22 TAMIL NADU DISTRICTS IDENTIFIED AS COVID-19 'HOTSPOTS' BY CENTRAL GOVT!

The Central government on Wednesday identified 22 districts in Tamil Nadu as COVID-19 "hotspots". It is unlikely that restrictions will be relaxed in these districts till 3 May.

The list includes Chennai, Tiruchy, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli, Erode, Vellore, Dindugal, Villupuram, Tiruppur, Theni, Namakkal, Chengalpattu, Madurai, Tuticorin, Karur, Virudhunagar, Kanyakumari, Cuddalore, Thiruvallur, Thiruvarur, Salem and Nagapattinam.

The Central government also classified 9 districts in Tamil Nadu as "non-hotspot" districts meaning that restrictions may be relaxed in these areas post 20 April.

The "non-hotspot" list includes Thanjavur, Thiruvannamalai, Kancheepuram, Sivaganga, The Nilgiris, Kallakurichi, Ramanathapuram, Perambalur and Ariyalur.

Tamil Nadu on Wednesday reported 38 new cases of COVID-19 taking the total number of cases in the state to 1242. The state has reported 14 deaths so far.