The Puducherry Disaster Management Authority will hold a crucial meeting on Wednesday to discuss the future course of action to be adopted to contain the growing spread of novel coronavirus cases in the Union Territory, Minister for Health Malladi Krishna Rao said on Tuesday.
In an audio message, the Minister said the meeting, to be chaired by Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy, would be attended by the legislature party leaders of all political parties. The Authority would decide on the measures to be adopted to arrest the spread of virus. As of Tuesday, Puducherry has 2,277 active cases of COVID-19.
A source in the Health Department told The Hindu that the department would press for the imposition of a full or partial lockdown to check the spread of COVID-19 cases in the UT. “In fact, during a review meeting chaired by the Chief Minister on August 9, the Health Minister had suggested the enforcement of a lockdown. We are not sure whether the Authority, during its Wednesday meeting, will announce a lockdown, but we are certain that there will be certain stringent measures,” the source said.
Mr. Rao said the government would seek Central assistance of ₹25 crore for meeting the additional expenditure towards COVID-19 management. The territorial administration had already sanctioned ₹25 crore to the Health Department for treatment and procurement of equipment, he said.
