The Tamil Nadu government has permitted the functioning of salons and beauty parlours in municipalities and town panchayats, except places under Greater Chennai Police limits from Sunday. The announcement comes as a further relaxation to the order issued by the government on May 18 permitting salons to reopen in rural areas.
According to a press release from the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday, the salon shops and beauty parlours can function from 7 am to 7 pm starting from Sunday. However, the ban on reopening salons in the containment zones still continues. The people coming from containment zones should also not be allowed to work, the release said.
Further, the people working in the salons and the customers coming to the shops should follow physical distancing. The shop workers or customers with cough, cold and fever should not be allowed inside the salons. The shops with air conditioners should not turn them on, the release said.
The statement also said that the shops should ensure the usage of hand sanitisers and face masks among the customers, and the shop owners also should clean and disinfect the shops at least 5 times a day.
On Tuesday, salons in rural areas except at Greater Chennai police limits, municipalities and town panchayats, were allowed to reopen. The relaxation was provided to a section of barbers after 60 days, as the shops were shut due to the nationwide lockdown.
Stricter restrictions were imposed on salons and beauty parlours as the second case of infection reported in the state was that of a barber. On March 18, the state government announced that a second case of COVID-19 infection was from a 20-year-old barber from Uttar Pradesh, staying at Arumbakkam.
One more COVID-19 case of a barber testing positive was reported in the state on April 26. A 36-year-old barber who kept the shop open in Koyambedu during the lockdown despite the restrictions in place tested positive for the coronavirus.