Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Edappadi K Palaniswami, on Saturday, announced that smaller places of worship within the city corporation limits across Tamil Nadu can reopen for the public. This announcement comes a month after the state government permitted small places of worship in rural areas to reopen.
According to reports, the places of worship can reopen from Monday, as per the latest announcement. The permission has been granted to places of worship including temples, churches and mosques that earn an annual revenue of less than Rs 10,000, subject to approval of the respective district collectors. With regards to places of worship in Chennai, the permission is to be obtained from the Commissioner of Greater Chennai Corporation.
The state government had, earlier, allowed smaller places of worship with an annual revenue of less than Rs 10,000 to operate in rural areas and towns of the state. Specific instructions regarding physical distancing and distribution of prasadam have been reportedly issued to the places of worship, as per reports. District collectors have also been authorised to conduct inspections in these places.
The state government also recently allowed standalone gyms to resume operations from Monday, August 10 and issued a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to be mandatorily followed in the gyms. This includes a ban on those aged over 50 years and below 15 from using the gym and maintaining six feet distance between the users while inside the building.
Tamil Nadu, on Friday, reported 5,880 new cases of COVID-19 and 119 deaths. Chennai accounted for 984 of the 5,880 new cases on Friday and Thiruvallur district reported 388 new cases. A total of 2,27,575 persons have recovered from COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu as of Friday, out of which 6,488 were discharged on Friday alone.