Marina, other beaches will be open to the public from December 14, depending on the prevailing COVID-19 situation
Extending the blanket lockdown on COVID-19 until the end of the year, Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami announced on Monday the reopening of medical schools and the resumption of physical classes for seniors from Bachelor of Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Agriculture, Fisheries and Veterinary Programs at all colleges and universities beginning December 7.
In a statement announcing further lockdown relaxations, Palaniswami said classes for undergraduate and graduate students of medical and medicine-related programs would begin on December 7 in compliance with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). However, classes for the new batch 2020-21 in these programs would start only from February 1, 2021.
Beaches to open
Starting on December 14, the general public will be able to visit the beaches, including Marina, depending on the prevailing COVID-19 situation, he said. Mandatory electronic registration will continue to enter Tamil Nadu (except from Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka).
Social, political, recreational and religious gatherings would be allowed in auditoriums with 50% capacity (or a maximum of 200 people) from December 1 to December 31. “Prior permission from the relevant district collector or Chennai police commissioner, as the case may be, is mandatory,” he said. Depending on the spread of the pandemic, a decision would be made on whether to allow such gatherings in open spaces, he said.
The state government also allowed the reopening of the showrooms, but only for commercial purposes. The pools may reopen, but only for sports training purposes. Tourist sites will also be allowed to function. The new relaxations would not be allowed in COVID-19 containment zones across the state. National and international air traffic routes allowed only by the Union Ministry of the Interior would be allowed.
SOPs will be issued for all the activities mentioned.
Appeal to the public to wear masks
Mr. Palaniswami also reiterated his call for the general public to wear masks when going out, wash their hands both at home and in their workplaces, ensure standards of physical distancing in public places, and avoid unnecessarily going out. “If full cooperation is given to the government, the infection could be completely controlled,” he stressed.
‘The spread is less than 1,600 people a day’
Mr. Palaniswami said that due to the measures taken by his government, the spread of the pandemic in the state was only about 1,600 people per day during the last 10 days. The number of people receiving medical treatment for COVID-19 has dropped from approximately 50,000 to 11,000 now.
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