As part of precautionary measures to check the spread of COVID-19, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Thursday ordered the closure of large textile and jewellery shops and departmental stores with central air-conditioning facilities from March 20. The closure will be effective till March 31.
“However, orders placed earlier in jewellery shops can be picked up through a specific counter. Supermarkets with essential supplies, those with vegetables and fruits, medical shops and eateries will function as usual,” an official release said.
The Chief Minister said IT companies and MSME units “must take steps” to allow “work from home” option for their employees. He also advised these organisations to create awareness among their employees and to keep their canteens clean. Following a review meeting chaired by the CM, he also ordered closure of weekly markets till March 31. Worship in major temples, including Murugan temple in Vadapalani, Parthasarathy temple in Triplicane, Kapaleeswarar temple in Mylapore, Meenakshi temple in Madurai, among others, would be “temporarily suspended” till March 31. However, “regular poojais will go on as per traditions ( agama vidhigal )”.
District Collectors have been advised to temporarily suspend worship in churches, mosques and dargas till March 31. Since there is a possibility of spread of the pandemic from nearby States, “it has been decided to scale down inter-State bus transport” and GM of Southern Railway has been requested to reduce services to and from other States.
Isolation wards are to be set up in hospitals in all districts and those presently under quarantine are to be counseled by doctors through video conference. Sufficient gloves, masks and necessary equipment are to be provided to health department workers.
“Public places with high footfall in all Corporations, Municipalities and Town Panchayats are to be cleaned with disinfectants at least twice a day. Courts, airports, railway stations, Metro stations, bus stops and harbours are to be cleaned with disinfectants at least thrice a day,” it stated.
To transport quarantined persons, vehicles have been arranged at airports and railway stations and those driving the vehicles are to be provided with necessary gear. Also those who are home quarantined will be offered medical advice through video conferencing.
The Chief Minister has appealed to the general public to extend cooperation towards all efforts taken by the Tamil Nadu government to win over the coronavirus.
