The period of lockdown imposed by the Tamil Nadu government ends on Wednesday at 9 pm in the cities of Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai.
Here are the top developments from the southern part of the country:
1. The Chennai Police has come up with a novel idea to track down violators of the lockdown. The Eye Tracker app will be used to scan Aadhar card/driving license of individuals who keep leaving their homes and the reason stated shall be recorded in the app. A subsequent checking will enable the cops to verify and punish any wrongdoer.
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2. Following a setback from the Kerala High Court, the Kerala government has decided to pass an Ordinance which will empower the state to cut the salaries of its employees for a period of six days every month for the next five months. This is aimed at enabling the state to fight the virus and provide legal backing to it.
3. Andhra Pradesh with over 1300 cases is soon emerging as a new hotspot in the country. It has recorded over 73 fresh cases within the last 24 hours including that of an infant. The total number of cases stands at 1332 as of Wednesday.
4. As the strict lockdown is being lifted from the state of Tamil Nadu, the CM issued a statement that all provision and grocery stores will remain open in the state tomorrow from 6 am to 5 pm. However, from May 1 it shall be back to the old timing and they shall remain open from 6 am till 1 pm.
5. Industries will soon be permitted to operate in Tamil Nadu. However, the CM hasn’t provided any details yet regarding the same. He stated that there will be a notification issued soon in the coming days.
6. Despite the setback due to COVID-19, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao said that the state has the potential to become the rice bowl of India with better coordination and policies.
7. The BBMP has finally set up the Ward level crisis cell after being blasted by the Karnataka High Court which had highlighted the importance of evolving localized solutions to the virus.
8. In a meeting with the Secretaries of the Kerala government, CM Pinarayi Vijayan has asked them to come up with tangible ideas to revive the state economy which is in dire straits. He said that the revival of the economy will be a top priority of the government.
9. Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has said that 32 recovered patients have expressed their willingness to donate their plasma. He wrote a letter to the State Health Minister Eatala Rajender.
10. Restaurants and eateries in Kerala are gearing up to reopen their services to the customers and have decided to enhance their safety and food standards. The Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) held a webinar to discuss the various measures to be implemented.