After a gap of 160 days, transport buses in Tamil Nadu resumed intra-district operations on Tuesday as the government allowed large-scale relaxations in COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Chennai Metropolitan buses have also resumed operations following standard operating procedure.
Private buses, however, will remain off the road as the operators feel that intra-district transport with restrictions on the number of passengers will not be a viable option for them. They have demanded permission to operate inter-district services.
Most of the temples and other places of worship have opened their doors for devotees. A standard operating procedure (SOP) on safety measures including the restriction on the number of persons for entry has been issued for these places.
The Chennai Metro will resume services from September 7 while the suspension of suburban trains will continue.
The government had earlier said inter-state rail services will be allowed only in select routes and no intra-state services permitted until September 15.
All shops across the state, including those in Chennai, will remain open till 8pm from today. Hotels, resorts and recreation clubs can resume operations by following the standard operating procedure.
However, Schools, colleges, cinema halls, swimming pools, amusement parks, beaches, zoos, museums, tourist spots would not be opened until further orders.
In 'Unlock 4', banks and related services have been permitted to use100 per cent of their staff. Government offices, too, will function with 100 per cent staff from September 1.
Chief Minister Palaniswami had said in a statement that shopping malls, show rooms and big formal stores can open with 100 per cent staff from September 1, but cinema halls cannot function yet.
