Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday announced several relaxations even while extending the COVID-19 lockdown till 6 a.m. of July 5.
Shopping complexes and malls will reopen in Chennai and surrounding districts (category 3) and intra- and inter-district bus transport will resume in 23 districts (category 2) from Monday.
Additional relaxations have been offered in 11 districts in western and central Tamil Nadu, where a stricter lockdown is in force because of a higher infection rate.
In Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu districts, private offices can function with 100% workers, and shopping complexes and malls can function between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Clothing and jewellery shops will be allowed to function without air-conditioning and with 50% of customer capacity between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. Eateries and shopping complexes and malls will be allowed to offer only takeaways.
No permission has been granted for cinema halls and gaming centres.
All places of worship in these four districts, including temples, mosques, churches and dargahs, will be allowed to open, in compliance with the Standard Operating Procedure. However, special prayers (‘archanai’), functions and consecration will not be allowed. Sports academies and training centres will be allowed to function on open grounds, but without any audience, between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. All shops and establishments already opened in these districts have been allowed till 7 p.m.
In 23 districts under category-II, intra and inter-district bus transport with 50% of seating and without air-conditioning will be allowed in compliance with the Standard Operating Procedure. All private offices will be allowed to function with 50% of their staff. Offices of construction companies will be allowed with 50% of their staff. Roadside eateries will be allowed for takeaways between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Shops offering servicing and sales of mobile phones, computer hardware and software and spare parts of electronic appliances will be allowed between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.
In all except 11 districts (Coimbatore, Erode, Karur, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Namakkal, Salem, Thanjavur, the Nilgiris, Tiruppur and Tiruvarur identified as category-I districts), the following relaxations have been allowed. All government offices, other industries, banks and ATM services and insurance companies will be allowed to function with 100% of their staff. IT and ITES companies will be allowed only with 50% of their staff.
Gymnasiums and yoga centres will be allowed to open during their regular business hours with 50% of their capacity but without air-conditioning. Entry into museums and protected monuments will be allowed between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Housekeeping and security services will be allowed without e-registration.
In category-I districts, tea shops will be allowed but only for takeaways between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. In the case of eateries, restaurants, bakeries and e-commerce services, the timing will be between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.
Beauty parlours and salons will be allowed without air-conditioning between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. but only with 50% of customers at a time. All essential government departments and sub-registrar offices will function with 100% of their workers, while other departments will function with 50% of their staff.
Schools, colleges, universities and training centres will be allowed to undertake admission activities. Government parks and those under the control of the local bodies and sports grounds will be allowed for training between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.
Stationery, electrical, footwear, hardware and fancy shops and those offering video, photography and photocopy services will be allowed between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. Sweet and savoury shops will be allowed between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. E-Seva centres will function as usual.
Service centres for home appliances such as mixies, grinders and televisions and those servicing vehicles and selling spares, sales and service of mobile phones, computer hardware, spares of electronic alliances will be allowed between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Roadside eateries and establishments selling construction materials in these 11 districts will be allowed between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. All essential government departments will be allowed with 100% workers, while other departments will be allowed with only 50% staff.
All private offices and establishments, banks and ATM services and insurance companies will be allowed to function with 50% staff in these 11 districts. “Companies involved in exports and manufacture of inputs for essential commodities will be allowed to function with 100% of the staff in compliance with the Standard Operating Procedure,” the order said.
IT and ITES companies in these 11 districts will be allowed only with 20% staff. Offices of construction companies will be allowed only with 33% staff. “All kinds of construction activities will be allowed,” the order said.
Shooting for films and television serials will be allowed after RT-PCR tests but only with a maximum of 100 artists. Post-shooting work will be allowed and maintenance work at cinema halls will be undertaken with permission from the Tahsildars.
Members of the public will be allowed on all beaches between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m., but only for walking. Match factories will be allowed to operate with 100% of their staff.
