Chennai: Ahead of the festival season, Tamilnadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami today announced more relaxations in lockdown conditions in the State, while allowing shops and hotels to remain open till 10 pm from tomorrow, an extension of one hour.
In a statement after chairing a meeting with senior Ministers and experts at the State Secretariat on the prevailing Covid-19 situation, the Chief Minister by following the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) already announced by the government, said all vegetable and grocery shops, hotels, restaurants and tea stalls were allowed to remain open till 10 pm across the State, except in containment zones.
While announcing lockdown relaxations from 1 October, he had announced that these shops could function till 9 pm from the earlier 10 pm and extended it further by an hour from tomorrow.
He said this decision was taken keeping in mind the upcoming festival season and the need to put the economy back on the growth path, besides the prevailing pandemic situation.
He said at a time when the spread of pandemic was coming down during the last few days, people were advised not to assemble in large numbers in shops and public places and wear face masks, maintain six ft social distancing, wash their hands regularly to prevent the virus spread.
Due to the strenuous efforts taken by the government, the Covid-19 spread was under control in the State and the Tamilnadu’s recovery rate was the highest in the country and the fatalities lowest among the States, Palaniswami said.
