Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami addressed the media on Saturday and spoke about the state government's efforts in tackling the COVID-19 outbreak. He said, "The government is taking intense efforts to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus in Tamil Nadu. The reason for the spread of the virus across Tamil Nadu has been due to the arrival of many Tamilians from other countries and states. The complete lockdown has been imposed in the state in order to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 infection. Since coronavirus is a new disease, there has been no cure found yet in the world. Only God knows when the coronavirus pandemic will come to an end,". 

He then continued saying, "No decision has been taken regarding the extension of lockdown in Tamil Nadu. The lockdown in the state has been imposed not to compel anybody, but only to bring the spread of the coronavirus to a halt. If the movement of the people is restricted outside their homes, there is a big possibility to arrest the spread of the coronavirus. I request the cooperation of all the political parties in the state's efforts." 

CM Edappadi Palaniswami added, "Tamil Nadu has 83 coronavirus testing centres at present, which is the highest in the country. So far, 8,27,000 tests have been conducted in the state, which is also the highest in India. Close to 54% people who were admitted for treatment have been cured and discharged in the state. The government has given instructions to the health department to increase the number of tests everyday in the state. Many teams have been constituted to control the spread of the virus. Health officials are conducting tests visiting house-to-house across the state. Awareness among the public is being created regarding COVID-19. One again, I urge people to wear masks and adopt social distancing as precautionary measures."