Chennai

With the current phase of lockdown scheduled to end on August 9, the State government on Friday extended it till August 23 with additional restrictions and relaxations, including closing down places of worship during weekends. 

Following recommendations from medical experts, the government is actively considering the possibility of reopening schools for Classes 9-12 with 50% students at a time, most likely from September 1. “Medical experts expressed the need to reopen schools as the students were reportedly experiencing mental stress since they were confined to their homes for months. This was also reportedly creating learning gaps in society. Further, many children have no access to online education. Hence after obtaining recommendations from all sections of people, the government will consider opening schools for Classes 9-12,” said Chief Minister MK Stalin, in a statement. 

Further, medical colleges, institutions of nursing and related ones can resume functioning from August 16 as a vast majority of students, professors and staffs working in the colleges are vaccinated. 

Besides existing curbs, the government imposed fresh restrictions on places of worship as there were complaints of overcrowding. Henceforth, all places of worship will remain closed on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. However, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said further restrictions were being imposed because the TPR has risen to 1.2 per cent. The number of cases were fluctuating, recording a rise or decline of 30-40 cases daily, he added.

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