It was like any other Sunday in the city after several weeks following lifting of the complete lockdown. There was heavy movement of people on roads and crowds thronged the markets.
M. Mohammed Najumudeen, a shopkeeper at Nelpettai, said a large number of customers visited the meat-and-fish market in Nelpettai on Sunday morning. “The crowd was almost like that of pre- COVID-19 time,” he said.
Personal distancing norms were completely flouted and many customers and shopkeepers failed to wear face masks, he said. “Police personnel fined all those who failed to wear face masks,” he added.
Similarly, many residents thronged the four Masi streets, Netaji Road and Town Hall Road with total disregard to social distancing norms.
G. Mohan, a street vendor on Netaji Road, said many residents did not know it was a lockdown-free Sunday. “Relaxation of lockdown norms will help improve business of hundreds of street vendors,” he said.
Concurring with this viewpoint, Ashraf Yusuf, secretary of Tamil Nadu Textile Merchants Association, said that there was good footfall of customers in textile shops on Sunday.
With the relaxation of lockdown norms, it was highly important to follow safety precautions, said V.P. Manikandan, a resident of S.S. Colony. “The circles and squares which were earlier drawn in front of shops to maintain adequate distances are missing now,” he noted.
Collector T. G. Vinay said that community participation in following mask usage and personal distancing in public places was essential to contain spread of pandemic. “Flying squads have been deployed in public places to ensure that everyone wears face masks. We are sensitising the public to come forward to get tested in case they display any symptom. Early identification will help to reduce the severity of the infection and help in containing the spread of COVID-19,” he added.