Chennai:The Tamil Nadu government on Friday announced more relaxations in lockdown norms, effective June 28, and they include re-opening places of worship and malls in four districts and resumption of public transport in 23 other districts. Gyms, yoga centres (50 per cent occupancy), museums and protected monuments would open in a total of 27 districts (10 AM to 5 PM) and barring 11 other districts, including Coimbatore and Thanjavur. Also, people would have access to beaches between 5 AM and 9 AM across the State, an official release here said.
The government extended by one more week other restrictions as part of the lockdown norms till 6 AM on July 5 and they include closure of bars and cinemas. Shopping complexes, malls and places of worship would re-open in four districts of Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur and Chengelpet in northern Tamil Nadu with relatively less number of cases and which fall in the third category.
All kinds of textile showrooms and jewellery could operate in these four districts by allowing a maximum of 50 per cent customers. Private establishments could work with a 100 per cent workforce in Chennai and three other districts. The government has categorised 38 districts into three separate groups in keeping with the incidence of COVID-19 cases for the purpose of easing curbs.
Non-airconditioned bus services, including inter-district operations, shall resume with 50 per cent occupancy in as many as 23 other districts in the second group. Bus services are already operational only in Chennai, and three nearby districts, including Chengelpet. In the first category of 11 other districts with comparatively more cases, the time duration for the functioning of a variety of retail outlets besides tea shops have been extended till 7 PM (previously up to 2 PM for certain shops and 5 PM for others).