Coronavirus: Tamil Nadu, with 1.1 lakh cases, will fully reopen malls from today except in Chennai
Tamil Nadu, the second worst-affected state by coronavirus in the country, will fully reopen malls from today except in Chennai, where the total lockdown ended June 30 as the district tally recorded a slight dip over the last few days. However, a total lockdown has been imposed in Madurai where 303 fresh cases were reported on Sunday taking its total to 4,085 cases with 2,975 active.
While malls can function with 50 per cent staff and without air conditioning, large showrooms can have only five customers at a time.
The state has also allowed IT and IT-enabled industries to reopen with 100 per cent staff though companies must provide transport and allow at least 20 per cent staff to work from home.
Bus services remain suspended across the state till July 15 and people will need e-passes for inter-district travel.
Small places of worship in villages of Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu and Thiruvallur districts will also reopen from today with restriction in places, such as no distribution of prasad, no singing of bhajans individually or by choir, and use of individual prayer mats.
Places of worship in other districts, except Chennai, had reopened last week.
In Chennai, large showrooms, standalone shops, salons, restaurants, tea shops have been permitted to reopen without air conditioning, but malls, gyms and theaters will continue to remain shut.
Other restrictions that were in place before June 19 will also continue to apply as the district's coronavirus tally remains high.
IT and IT-enabled industries in Chennai can function only with 50% staff or a maximum of 80 members.
The movement of private vehicles in the city is no longer banned, autos and cabs can ferry 2 and 3 passengers, respectively.
Restaurants and tea shops can open, they can only offer takeaways.
Outside Chennai, though restaurants can offer dine-in services with maximum 50 per cent seating, the Restaurants' Association has decided to continue with takeaways only.
The President of the Restaurants' Association, Venkatasubbu, told NDTV, "We are concerned about the safety of our customers and employees. So except in one or two districts, restaurants will only offer takeaways."
Some 4,150 people have tested positive in Tamil Nadu over the last 24 hours. The total number of coronavirus cases in the state has crossed 1.1 lakh.