Chennai falls in line, stays home

After a day of defiance, a majority of the residents stayed indoors as the shutdown entered the second day on Thursday. People were better behaved and many of the shops forced residents to follow social distancing as the importance of precautions against the virus seems to have sunk in.
Neighbourhoods in Saidapet, KK Nagar, Triplicane, Mylapore, Royapettah, Kodambakkam, Virugambakkam, Anna Nagar and others were quiet but for the whiz of an occasional two-wheeler or cars.
Main thoroughfares – Anna Salai, GST road, Poonamallee High Road saw very few vehicles. That too of the people who were out buying essentials. At the roadblocks created to check vehicles, there were only two or three two wheelers and a few taxis on GST Road, Anna Salai and other main roads. And autos stayed off the road.
After being harsh for a day, the police started a campaign in neighbourhoods urging people not to step out. The patrol vehicles and hired autorickshaws with loudspeakers were driven around inner lanes advising people not to step out. “No one should step out unless they have to buy essentials like milk. One person from a family should step out. Please follow the government order,” went the announcement, as the vehicles moved around Bharathi Salai, Triplicane High Road, Whites Road and others.
The change in perception towards the curfew was evident among the shopkeepers and people who stepped out in the afternoon or evening to buy milk and provisions. Many of the provision stores that were open at Zam Bazaar market and Aminjikarai had spots drawn for buyers to maintain social distancing. And in those shops where it was not there, people ensured that they stood farther from one another covering their face with a scarf or a mask. The vegetable market of Zam Bazaar was barricaded and people were not allowed to crowd. Koyambedu market continued to be an exception where people crowded around at vegetable stalls But there too at some of the shops, the attender was insisting “one at a time”.
At an air-conditioned supermarket, buyers were seen rushing in and out with their face covered. “I did not want to spend time inside. I rushed in, picked up the items I needed and paid and rushed out. There is only one door and the place is stuffy and air conditioned,” said Syed, a resident of Thousand Lights.” However, a few among those who ventured out were careless. A family had come out to shop. They brought children too. The kids were walking around and touching all products and the aisle at the supermarket. When asked about the risks, the parent looked puzzled. “I will wash her hands when we get back home,” he said.
Precautionary measures were more evident not only in the city but also in the suburbs. Spots were drawn and people stood in a line at Amudham supermarket run by the government at Pallavaram. In Tambaram, municipality officials drew spots infront of shops and also urged people to maintain social distancing. Though the government has been saying that restaurants can function for takeaway, many did not open on the second day too.