TN extends lockdown till July 5 with additional relaxations

Tamil Nadu government has further extended the Covid-19 lockdown till July 5 morning with additional relaxations.

For the first category of 11 districts (where the spread of infections is high) - Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Karur, Namakkal, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai - the relaxations include the opening of tea shops from 6 am to 7 pm; opening of electrical, hardware and stationery shops.

For second category comprising 23 districts where the spread is moderate the relaxations include opening of mobile service centres; computer hardware, software and electronic appliances stores and intra-district public transport with 50 per cent occupancy.

The 23 districts are Ariyalur, Cuddalore, Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Kallakuruchi, Kanyakumari, Krishnagiri, Madurai, Perambalur, Pudukottai, Ramanathapuram, Ranipet, Sivagangai, Theni, Thenkasi, Tirunelveli, Tirupattur, Tiruvannamalai, Thoothukudi, Tiruchirapalli, Villupuram, Vellore and Virudhunagar.

For the third category of districts - Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram and Chengalpet, where the virus load has reduced substantially, the State government has allowed private companies to function with 100 per cent attendance; opening of jewellery and textile shops (without air-conditioning) have been allowed with 50 per cent customers from 9 am to 7 pm and places of worship have been permitted to open.

Shopping complexes/malls have been allowed to operate from 9 am to 7 pm. However, eateries inside the malls can provide only parcel service. Access to beaches will be allowed from 5 am to 9 am for exercise purposes, says a government press release.

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