Ahead of 4-day complete lockdown, panic buying witnessed in TN

Chennai: Amid concerns over the rising number of coronavirus cases, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday, April 25 announced a complete lockdown in Chennai as Madurai and Coimbatore for four days starting from Sunday, April 26. Two smaller cities – Salem and Tirupur – will be shut for three days, the government said.

Palaniswami announced on Saturday morning that grocery and vegetable shops will be allowed to function until 3 pm on Saturday.

Except for hospital pharmacies and medical shops, all other shops would remain shut during the compelete lockdown period. Mobile vegetable outlets and home delivery of food from restaurants would be allowed, the government said.

Following the sudden announcement, panic buying was witnessed in these areas. People were seen lined up at shops to buy essentials with some forgetting the social distancing norms in the chaos.