Coronavirus | Consider imposing complete lockdown on May 1 and 2 as well: High Court tells T.N. government

Directs government to monitor and control prices of drugs, hospital charges and prices of oxygen and vaccination

The Madras High Court on Monday suggested that the State government can impose a complete lockdown not only on May 2, when the Election Commission of India (ECI) counts the votes polled for the Assembly election in Tamil Nadu, but also on May 1, in an attempt to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and curb the movement of vehicles other than those involved in counting and other related activities. Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy wrote: “If necessary, the State may consider imposing a lockdown on May 1, which was traditionally a holiday, and again on May 2, which is a Sunday, and only allow movement of vehicles needed for counting and related purposes, apart from emergency vehicles. If an announcement in such regard is made well in advance, say by April 28, 2021, the ordinary citizen may have sufficient notice.” The first Division Bench made the suggestion while passing interim orders on a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) petition taken up by the court last week to monitor the preparedness of the State government to fight the raging second wave of COVID-19. Advocate General Vijay Narayan and Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan apprised the court of the measures taken so far by the State.