Lockdown in Tamil Nadu extended till August 9 - What's allowed, what's not

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, on Friday, announced the extension of COVID-19 lockdown in the state till August 9, without any further relaxations. The present lockdown comes to an end on July 31.

Today, Stalin had chaired a meeting to discuss the spread of the novel coronavirus in Tamil Nadu and neighbouring states and discussed steps that need to be taken.

He said the meeting also discussed the risk of higher Covid spread due to gathering of people at certain places due to the relaxations announced earlier and urged District Collectors and police officials to take strong action in case of lockdown violations.

He also said officials can decide on the closure of places where there is a large gathering of people.

CM Stalin also said that action can be taken against shops and other establishments that do not follow the safety protocol.

Hoteliers had earlier expected the government to allow liquor bars to function in their properties or serve alcohol in guest rooms which would ease their financial crunch. They had pointed out that the government is allowing retail sales of liquor.

Inter-state bus transport would continue to remain suspended, with buses to Puducherry remaining an exception. The existing cap of 50 attendees at weddings and 20 attendees at funerals would continue. Other relaxations with regards to shops, hotels, malls, offices, etc. would continue as per the existing guidelines.