The government has decided to impose a full lockdown on Tuesdays, starting next week, through August in a bid to contain the worrying rise in COVID-19 cases and deaths over the past couple of weeks, Puducherry Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy said on Wednesday.
Mr. Narayanasamy, who chaired a meeting of the Puducherry State Disaster Management Authority, said all activities, including trade, industry and banks, would be suspended during the 24-hour lockdown from 6 a.m. on Tuesdays.
He appealed for full compliance with the lockdown.
The timings for shops would be reverted to 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Friday, and no one should be out on the streets between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., he said.
Puducherry had the highest COVID testing rate per lakh population in the country, the CM said. The Health Department had tested 12% of the 13-lakh population so far. Testing would be stepped up in the enclaves of Karaikal, Yanam and Mahe. “We plan to double testing rates from the current level of 1,000 samples,” he added.
The administration would soon recruit manpower and stock up on diagnostic kits, PPEs and N95 masks to intensify COVID-19 management measures in the U.T., he said.
A minute’s silence was observed before the meeting as a mark of respect for former Minister A. Elumalai, who died of COVID-19 on Wednesday.
