COVID Curbs In TN: No Physical Classes For Std 1-8 Till Jan 10. Theatres, Metro To Operate At 50% Capacity

Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin has urged people to get vaccinated while also stressing compliance with other COVID-appropriate behaviour such as mask-wearing.

Representative Photo: PTI

New Delhi: As Tamil Nadu witnesses a spike in the number of Coronavirus cases, the state government on Friday announced a number of restrictions to check the surge.

Chief Minister MK Stalin announced the curbs after holding a review meeting in Chennai to take stock of the COVID situation and the spread of Omicron variant.

Tamil Nadu on Friday reported 1,155 new cases of Coronavirus, up from the 890 a day before.

COVID Restrictions In Tamil Nadu

• Playschools and kindergarten sections will not be run and there won’t be any direct classes for standards 1-8 till January 10, news agency PTI reported.
  
  
• Classes for standards 9-12, colleges and ITIs will be held in compliance with Standard Operating Procedures while existing guidelines will apply for places of worship, the Chief Minister’s statement informed.
  
  
• All exhibitions and book fairs are being postponed.
  
  
• Dine-in services at restaurants, hotels, and bakeries have been restricted to 50 per cent of the capacity, while amusement parks can be operated only with a similar number of persons.
  
  
• The 50 per cent cap also applies to textile showrooms, jewellery shops, gyms and yoga centres, multiplex/cinema theatres (of the allowed seats), beauty spas and salons and indoor games.
  
  
• Metro rail services can operate only with a 50 per cent seating capacity, while only seated passengers will be allowed in government bus services.
  
  
• Participants in weddings should be restricted to 100 while only 50 persons would be allowed in death-related events, CM Stalin stated, as reported by PTI.

CM MK Stalin On Other Measures

CM MK Stalin has urged Tamil Nadu citizens to get vaccinated while also stressing compliance with other COVID-appropriate behaviour such as mask-wearing.

He stated that all employees in commercial establishments should have been vaccinated against COVID-19. Further, action will be taken if mask-wearing is not followed by establishments and customers.

As part of virus containment measures, Test-Track-Treat-Vaccination-COVID-19 Appropriate Behaviour will be strictly implemented, he added.

Further, the Chief Minister said that only essential services should be allowed in containment zones while committees in such areas will also undertake door-to-door surveys to prevent the spread of the contagion.

Those violating pandemic containment measures will be fined, he warned.

CM Stalin appealed to people to refrain from crowding during the coming festive season while emphasising social distancing and wearing of masks.

COVID Cases In Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu on Friday recorded a sharp rise with 1,155 new COVID-19 infections which included returnees from domestic and overseas destinations.

The fresh infections pushed the caseload to 27,48,045, the Health Department stated.

The death toll mounted to 36,776 with 11 more people succumbing to the contagion, the bulletin informed.

New COVID-19 infections have been increasing in Tamil Nadu over the last two days.

The recoveries were lesser compared to new infections: 603 people got discharged in the last 24 hours aggregating to 27,03,799.

Meanwhile, there are 7,470 active infections in the state.

Chennai and neighbouring Chengalpet accounted for most of the fresh infections as they reported 589 and 137 cases respectively, while the remaining was spread across other districts.

Notably, as per the state bulletin, the returnees who tested COVID positive were from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Oman, and West Bengal.

(With Agency Inputs)