Those coming from TN will be put under 14-day quarantine: Pondy CM

"None would be let into the territorial limits of Puducherry even if they possess e-passes," he said while addressing media.

The Chief Minister attributed the rise in COVID-19 cases in Puducherry and Karaikal regions to those from Chennai and other neighbouring districts from TN intruding into the Union Territory without informing the government. "Such intruders would be put under compulsory 14-day quarantine aspeople from the neighbouring state are spreading the pandemic in Puducherry," he said.

"There were only three cases prior to June 1 in Puducherry. But, the number of COVID-19 cases had galloped since last two weeks and presently the number of infections had touched 30 on a single day Tuesday," he noted. The police and revenue authorities have started implementing stringent measures since Wednesday as per the directions given by the administration to make Puducherry out of bounds for people from neighbouring State.

Unless there is any urgent need to get medical attention none would be permitted because the neighbouring districts and Chennai had been reporting large number of pandemic every other day. Narayanasamy said the State Health Mission has decided to recruit sufficient number of medical personnel including workers of the ASHA unit as the present situation required strengthening of manpower in the government hospitals offering treatment to the pandemic stricken patients.

Earlier in the day, the CM along with Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao and officials of the Health department visited the Indira Gandhi Medical college hospital in neighbouring Kadirkamam and found that it was not fully utilising the installed capacity to test swabs. Similarly, the Centrally administered JIPMER was also under utilising its capacity to test the swabs.

"These hospitals should increase the number of tests," he said. The Chief Minister assured the medical personnel that the government would earmark sufficient funds from out of the COVID-19 fund to strengthen the infrastructure and equip the hospitals with sufficient number of ventilators, masks, PPEs and other facilities.

He said the services rendered by medical personnel were praiseworthy. On the launch of operation unemployment in the Union Territory, he said, "it is decided that all the vacant posts in government departments including the police and education departments would be filled fast.

Police constables and men at the level of Inspectors and teachers would be posted to fill vacancies." "COVID-19 should not be cited as the reason for delay in filling the vacancies in departments," he said. He also announced the government decision to revise upward the wage structure of doctors and other personnel in health care services.