Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palswami on Wednesday announced that the "intensified lockdown" in three cities -- Chennai, Coimbatore, and Madurai -- will be relaxed from April 30.
The three cities have been under an "intensified lockdown" since April 26.
"On April 30, shops can open from 6 am to 5 pm for essential items, vegetables, and fruits. However, from May 1, shops will only be allowed to open from 6 am to 1 pm," Palswami said in a meeting with district collectors from across the state via video conferencing.
He advised people not to rush to shops at once to buy essential items and asked them to maintain social distance.
"Our government is taking steps to curtail COVID-19 on a war footing. Except for Chennai, the spread of coronavirus is under control in all other districts in the state. All the district collectors are doing a good job," Palswami said.
"District collectors are ensuring that essential commodities are being provided or made available to people. I laud the district collectors for that. Many department officials are working on a war footing to curtail the spread of the virus," he added.
Palswami said that Amma Canteens are running successfully in the state and over seven lakh people are being fed by them.
As many as 121 new COVID-19 positive cases were reported in the state on Tuesday, taking the total count of confirmed cases in the state to 2,058.
( With inputs from ANI )