Malls, theatres in 16 districts to remain shut until March 31

With the deadly Coronavirus spreading across the country and several states going into shutdown mode, Tamil Nadu is the latest to join the bandwagon. The Tamil Nadu government issued an order on Sunday with the precautionary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the state.
As part of the preventive measures, malls and cinema halls in certain taluks of the 16 districts ,which share borders with other states like Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh will be closed till March 31.This includes Coimbatore, Kanyakumari, Theni, Tiruppur, Nilgiris, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Tirunelveli, Hosur, Tenkasi, Tiruvallur, Vellore, Tirupattur, Ranipet, Erode, Dindigul and Virudhu Nagar.
“I personally find this a great move by the government. If the footfalls at the mall are less, the lower the scope for the contagion,” says Ashwin Balasubramaniam of Brookefields Mall in Coimbatore. “We will comply with the order with immediate effect. We received the GO and we are waiting for the final order from the district collector. We have been disinfecting the high-contact surfaces at the mall over the last one week, like the floor and railings. We have provided masks to the staff as well.”
Ashwin adds, “Once the mall is shut down, we will be working with a skeletal staff until the order is lifted.”
Confusion prevailed on Sunday as there was no clarity if all the cinema halls in the districts near the borders would be shut down or only those in the taluks in close proximity to other states will have to close their doors to the public. S Balasubramaniam, who runs Baba Cinemas in RS Puram, Coimbatore, tells us, “We are functioning as usual as the government order only talks about theatres in the outskirts of the city. That said, we have been taking precautions and ensuring that we clean the cinema hall and toilets and bathrooms on a regular basis and do it more thoroughly now. We also have ensured that the wash basins are cleaned on regular intervals as well.”
While temples, churches, mosques and other religious institutions will be sanitised under the supervision of government officials, devotees will be screened for any symptoms of the virus. Indians returning from foreign countries to the state, who land at airports in Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore and Trichy, will also be thoroughly screened and quarantined accordingly. The government has ordered the closure of kindergarten and primary sections of all schools across the state until March 31.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has asked people of the state to avoid crowded places for the next few weeks. The government order urged the public to maintain personal hygiene and requested aged persons, children and those with less immunity to avoid crowded places. It also advised parents to not let their children play in groups. The government has appealed to the people of the state that if they found any symptoms of the virus, they should immediately approach government hospitals.