Tamil Nadu: Lockdown extended by a week; Tasmac & salons to open in Chennai

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu government on Friday extended the statewide Covid-19 lockdown by another week till June 21 and introduced further relaxations in 27 districts including Chennai where the caseload is showing a decline.
The new relaxations include permission for schools, colleges and universities to commence administrative work relating to admissions and nod for Tasmac outlets to operate from 10am to 5pm.Beauty parlours and salons will be allowed with 50% customers between 9am and 5pm.

Chief minister M K Stalin said the additional relaxations are not applicable to Coimbatore, the Nilgiris, Tirupur, Erode, Salem, Karur, Namakkal, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai districts where Covid-19 cases are high. The new relaxations would take effect on June 14. Export and vendor units can continue functioning with 50% workforce, following SOPs. The rest of the industries will also be allowed with 33% workforce.
Workers have already been allowed to travel in four-wheelers. Hereafter, they will be allowed to travel on two-wheelers, provided they take e-registration for the vehicles and carry identity cards, Stalin said. IT/ITES offices have been directed to work with only 20% workforce or with a maximum of 10 employees. Housing finance companies, non-banking financial companies and all insurance corporations are allowed to function with 33% workforce.
Stalin said all shops permitted to operate should adhere to standard operating procedures. Hand sanitizer with dispenser should be kept mandatory, besides thermal screening equipment to check temperature. The managements should ensure that the staff and customers wear masks compulsorily. “All shops should function with no air-conditioning and not let in many people to maintain social distancing norms. Marks should be drawn for people to maintain physical distance when they queue up before shops,” the CM said.
The state government also extended certain relaxations in the 11 districts where case load is still high. Export units and vendor units can operate there with 25% workforce, following standard operating procedures. Private security services, agencies for maintenance and upkeep of office, and housekeeping in residential complexes are permitted with e-registration. Passengers with e-registration will be permitted in rental vehicles, taxis and autos. Taxis will be permitted with three passengers and autorickshaws with two passengers.
Self-employed electricians, plumbers, motor mechanics and carpenters can work between 6 am and 5 pm with e-registration. But shops in these categories will not be permitted to open. Cycle and two-wheeler repair shops, those selling agriculture equipment, pump set repair shops, optical shops and service centres shall operate from 9 am to 2 pm. Pottery and handicraft shops can function from 6 am to 5 pm.
Meanwhile, condemning the state’s decision to open the Tasmac outlets, AMMK leader T T V Dhinakaran urged the government to rollback the decision immediately since the outlets could become a possible Covid-19 spreader. In a series of tweets, hours after the government’s announcement, Dhinakaran said the move was against the state’s intention to save the people from the pandemic. “It is worse that the government like the previous regime does not care about the lives of the people but seeks to fill the treasury,” he said. Dhinakaran accused the government of offering Covid relief on one hand and snatching it through the Tasmac outlets.