No Sunday lockdown in Tamil Nadu, but here are Covid-19 rules still in place - Check what`s open, what`s closed

After the review meeting on Thursday, CM M K Stalin announced that there will be no night curfew from January 28. The government also decided that there would not be a complete lockdown on Sunday (January 30).

New Delhi: Amid a continuous decline in the Covid-19 cases in the state, the Tamil Nadu government decided to relax several Covid-related curbs including the Sunday lockdown and night curfew. 

Tamil Nadu government eased Covid-19 restrictions and announced that schools from classes 1-12 and colleges will also reopen in the state from February 1.

Following a spate of infections, the government had ordered schools to close while permitting classes for higher secondary students till Pongal (mid-January). Later, all the higher secondary schools were asked to remain shut till this month-end. 

According to a detailed order passed by the Tamil Nadu government, the following are the new guidelines: 

- After the review meeting on Thursday, Chief Minister M K Stalin announced that there will be no night curfew from January 28. 

- The government also decided that there would not be a complete lockdown on Sunday (January 30). 

- Restaurants, cinema theatres, clubs, amusement parks, bakeries, lodges, gyms, garment and jewellery shops, spas and salons are allowed to function with 50% occupancy. 

- The restriction on the number of persons (up to 100) for marriage and (50) for funerals will however continue. 

- All colleges and universities, other than those that are temporarily functioning as Covid Care Centres, would resume classes on February 1, strictly complying with the government guidelines on Covid safety.

- The restriction on social, cultural and political gatherings will continue. 

- The polls to the urban civic bodies will be held on February 19 with stringent enforcement of the SoPs issued by the State Election Commission, the government said. 

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu on Saturday added 24,418 to the list of Covid infections and they included four infected returnees from overseas. This pushed the tally to 33,03,702 till date as the state continued to report a decline in new Covid-19 cases.

As many as 46 people succumbed to the contagion in the last 24 hours taking the death toll to 37,506 till date, the Health Department said. Recoveries eclipsed new cases with 27,885 people getting discharged in the last 24 hours, a bulletin said.