From Saturday, no standing in buses, crowding in shops

CHENNAI: Thinking of making a dash for the store? Be prepared to wait outside. And if you’re going by bus, you’ll have to find a seat. That’s because the State government on Thursday imposed new restrictions to control the spread of Covid-19.

Festivals and religious congregations will be prohibited, but TASMAC shops will function without new restrictions. Weddings may be held, but only 100 guests will be allowed. The new rules, to be enforced from Saturday, were needed as people aren’t wearing masks or practising physical distancing, an official release said, and blamed the public for the spike in Covid cases.

However, it didn’t mention the large gatherings witnessed in the last four months for election campaigns across the State. The curbs were announced after Chief Secretary Rajeev Ranjan chaired meetings on April 5 and 7, during which experts observed that besides effective containment measures, restrictions should be intensified. Tamil Nadu on Thursday recorded more than 4,000 new cases for the first time in 172 days. On Wednesday, 3,986 new cases were reported.

Cases more than doubled in just 9 days

The government said it had to impose new restrictions due to the rapid spread of the disease in many States. In Tamil Nadu too, it has been spreading in some districts due to functions, festivals and meetings during which people didn’t wear masks, and because people didn’t follow the standard operating procedures at workplaces, it added.

On March 28, the number of active cases in the State was 13,070, and the figure more than doubled to 27,743 on April 7. On an average, 80,000 RT-PCR tests are being done daily. Testing has been increased in containment zones. To curb the movement of people in containment zones, officials will monitor the zones round the clock. Besides this, volunteers would be used to provide essential supplies to people in containment zones.

Curbs from April 10...

• 50% seating at restaurants, tea shops, which will only function till 11 pm
• 50% customers to be allowed at a time in shops, showrooms, malls
• 50% customers allowed at recreation clubs, entertainment/amusement/zoological parks, museums, cinema theatres
• Only 100 guests at weddings
• Only 50 people at funerals
• Social, political, academic, entertainment, sports, cultural events allowed in closed spaces, but with not over 200 people
• Sports competitions permitted without spectators
• Swimming pools to be open only for training
• All film artists/workers to undergo RT-PCR tests, get vaccinated before shooting
• Only 2 passengers in autorickshaws; 3 in taxis
• E-registration remains for people coming to TN, except from Puducherry, Karnataka and AP