Chennai, June 25: The Tamil Nadu government on Friday extended the COVID-19 lockdown across the State till July 5 with certain relaxations,  allowing the opening of shopping malls, places of worship in Chennai, Kancheepurm, Tiruvallur and Chengalpattu. With the latest order in place, private companies in all four districts can now operate with 100% employees. The state government led by the newly elected Chief Minister MK Stalin continues to classify the districts into three categories based on the infection rate. Kattur Village in Tiruvarur District Becomes First Village in Tamil Nadu to Achieve 100% COVID-19 Vaccination.

In 11 districts of Tamil Nadu including Coimbatore, the Nilgiris, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Karur, Namakkal, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinamand Mayiladuthurai, which have been classified as category I, the government has increased the business hours for permitted shops. In the remaining districts, all classified as category II, shops and establishments can be open till 7 pm

Here’s What Will Open and Shut in Tamil Nadu:

  1. Private companies in all four districts of Chennai, Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu, Thiruvallur can operate with 100% employees.

  2. Shopping complex and malls in Tamil Nadu to reopen with 50% capacity

  3. Churches, temples, and mosques in the state can be opened but no festivals to be allowed, the Tamil Nadu Government said.

  4. All textile shops, jewellery stores shall function without air-conditioning and allow only 50% of the customers at a time between 9 am and 7 pm.

  5. Only takeaway services will be allowed in the restaurants.

  6. Sports training academies and outdoor events will be allowed between 6 am and 9 pm without spectators

  7. Beaches will be open in the mornings to enable walkers, joggers, and the like.

  8. Weddings can be held at 50 percent occupancy.

  9. Cinema Halls and play centres will not be allowed.

  10. Museum and other ASI protected monuments can be open from 10 am to 5 pm

  11. Export units and their vendors can function with 100 per cent staff strength.

  12. Travel to the Nilgiris, Kodaikanal, Yercaud, and Kuttraalam will be permitted only for emergency purposes, based on E-passes.

On Wednesday, Tamil Nadu reported its first case of Delta Plus variant of COVID-19, with a city-based nurse getting infected with it, a top government official said. The state health department had sent 1,159 samples in May to INSACOG (Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia), the reports of 772 samples were made available on Wednesday of which one sample from Chennai was found to be infected with the Delta Plus variant.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 25, 2021 09:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).