The confirmed cases of novel coronavirus in Tamil Nadu rose to 1,755 with the state reporting 72 new cases on Friday. Despite the rise in the number of confirmed cases, hundreds violated social distancing and stand outside Madurai collector's office to secure passes for their vehicles on April 24.

In an announcement earlier, the district administration had decided to issue QR-coded passes for people in the district. For this purpose, hundreds of people were seen flouting social distancing norms outside the administration office.

This incident has come to light barely days after hundreds of locals in Madurai district gathered for the funeral of a Jallikattu bull. Local leaders such as RB Udhaykumar and Sellur Raju were also seen violating the rules of the lockdown in Madurai earlier this month.

The novel coronavirus has claimed 20 lives in Tamil Nadu to date, while over 700 patients who tested positive for the infection in the state, have recovered.

In a welcome move, various districts in Tamil Nadu have developed colour-coding systems for vehicles. This system allows the district administration to classify vehicles into essential and non-essential, even specifying days of the week when these vehicles can ply on the roads. However, recent incidents show that the state government must put a system in place for the application of passes for vehicles that adheres to social distancing norms and minimizes the risk of infection.