Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin today announced that the Covid lockdown in the state will be extended by a week, till August 8, and no fresh relaxations will be provided.

Appealing to people to avoid stepping out unless necessary so that the third wave of the pandemic can be averted, the Chief Minister has asked local authorities and police to strictly enforce Covid guidelines.

Yesterday, Tamil Nadu saw a slight rise in its daily Covid tally after 68 days. Chennai and Coimbatore, too, recorded a rise in cases for the third day in a row.

He has also said collectors and commissioners can enforce lockdowns in specific areas if crowds gather.

The Chief Minister has said action will be taken against commercial and other establishments that allow more customers than what is permitted in the Covid guidelines.

Earlier, on July 16, the state government had extended the lockdown till July 31 while easing some curbs.

While schools and colleges in the state continue to remain closed, Industrial Technical Institutes and typewriting schools have been allowed to function at 50 per capacity. Theatres, bars, swimming pools and zoos are still shut and political meetings and cultural events are prohibited.

Tamil Nadu yesterday reported 1,859 new Covid cases and 28 deaths over the past 24 hours. The number of active cases in the state currently stands at 21,207. Over the past 10 days, the state's daily case counts have remained below the 2,000 mark.

As per the Union Health Ministry data, over 2.23 crore doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered in Tamil Nadu so far. More than 40 lakh people in the state have got both doses of the vaccines.