Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin Friday announced that the lockdown will be extended in the state for another two weeks till August 23 in view of Covid-19.

After consulting with the health experts and government officials, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has decided to reopen schools for students of classes IX-XII with 50 per cent seating capacity following the Standard Operating Procedures from September 1. Medical Colleges and other medical-related Institutions including Nursing are allowed to reopen from August 16.

To make sure that people don't crowd in large numbers at places of worship, the state govt said that religious places will remain shut for devotees on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. He also said that commercial establishments must have hand-sanitisers at the entry point and thermal-screen customers and ensure social distancing.

Districts such as Chennai, Coimbatore, Chengalpattu and Kallakuruchi remain under a stern watch, after the case graphs showed a bottoming out and northward reversal. The number of Covid-19 cases in the state increased marginally to 1,997 - from 1,949 on Wednesday - to take the total number of infections here to 25,69,398.