Chennai: The complete curfew, which was enforced in Chennai during the third week of June to control the spread of Covid-19, has been relaxed from this morning. With many offices and commercial establishments reopening, people can be seen on roads.
However, since the public transportation is not restored, people are seen moving on their own vehicles or the hired ones. “Relaxations in Chennai lockdown will come in effect from 6 July. Vegetable and grocery shops will be allowed to open from 6 am to 6 pm, textile, hardware shops from 10 am to 6 pm and restaurants from 6 am to 9 pm,” Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami had said on Saturday.
The State government had already announced Lockdown 6.0 by extending it from 1 to 31 July. He also announced extending the total lockdown, announced from 19 to 30 June in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram, Chengalpet districts, and from 24 to 30 June in Madurai, till 5 July in these four districts.
In separate statements, Palaniswami, while extending total lockdown in Madurai by a week till 12 July to control further spread of the virus as the corona cases had been on the rise, announced certain relaxations with restrictions in Chennai and three neighbouring districts from 6 July.
Palaniswami said the essential services already announced would continue in Madurai for the next one week, while no relaxations were allowed in Containment zones.
In another statement, while announcing restrictions and relaxations for Chennai and three districts from Monday onwards, he said only takeaways and online orders would be allowed from 6 am to 9 pm in hotels/restaurants (earlier 50 per cent dining was allowed) and tea shops would function for parcel services only from 6 am to 6 pm.
He also announced that vegetable and grocery shops would be allowed to function from 6 am to 6 pm, reducing the duration by two hours (earlier announced till 8 pm), while allowing showrooms, big jewellery and textile shops to function from 10 am to 6 pm by following the guidelines already announced (prior to 19 June).
He said the restrictions and relaxations which were in force prior to 19 June in areas coming under Greater Chennai police limits, would continue from July six onwards.