Chennai in Lockdown till April 14 due to Corona / COVID19

The Prime Minister has announced that the entire country will be in complete lockdown for another 21 days. This is currently effective till April 14, 2020.

Chennai along with the rest of Tamil Nadu will be under lockdown until April 14, 2020 based on the order by the Government of Tamilnadu. This lockdown is to prevent the spread of the Corona Virus / COVID 19 in Chennai City. It will be implemented across 75 districts in the country. This lockdown decision is as per the advisory from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

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All the essential services like milk, water, banks, electricity office, among other services, will be fully operational.

As per the Government Press release Chennai Metro Rail Services, MTC Buses, and Private buses will not operate in the city.

Restrictions during the Corona Virus / COVID 19 Lockdown

  1. Entire state lock-down from tomorrow 6 PM (March 24, 2020)
  2. Not more than 4 members including within family should not gather.
  3. One family member per household will be allowed to step out to buy daily needs.
  4. For daily waged labor (white ration card) will be provided free with 1 month required rice, 12 kg per individual. Through fair price shops.
  5. Along with rice Rs.1500, cash will be provided per family.
  6. Except for essential services all government departments should work from home. And only 20% should work basis roaster.
  7. All education departments, schools will be closed till 31st.
  8. Building Construction workers and contract workers, working labor, industrial workers both in government and private sectors should be paid salary of lockdown days.
  9. Anganwadi centers will be closed, but kids and pregnant will be provides nutrition at home.
  10. Pregnant Women expecting soon will be extended with proper medical support through Amma Odi.
  11. Only emergency services will be available at hospitals.
  12. All types of Public and private transport will be closed at 100%. Buses, trains, cars, cabs, two-wheeler cabs.
  13. All interstate borders will be closed. Except for essential services goods.
  14. Stay at Home Stay Safe.
  15. Police will strictly follow epidemic diseases act 1897. And will arrest violators under criminal acts.

Please read our article on the Status of Corona Virus in Chennai, Tamilnadu.

The current Assembly Session of Tamilnadu is likely to be suspended considering the emergency, according to sources aware of this matter.

What Essential Services will Function during this lockdown in Chennai?

Chennai Lock-down due to Corona Virus till March 31, 2020

The following shops and services will operate as usual:

  • Telecom Providers like BSNL, Airtel, etc…
  • Vegetable and Fruits Shops
  • Oil and Energy
  • Health and Pharmacy
  • Banks & ATM’s (Limited Duration)
  • Milk
  • Water Supply & Sewerage
  • Provision Stores
  • Police and Fire Services
  • Transport Services including Logistics and E-Commerce Operators

Services that will be closed during this Lockdown in Chennai

  • Sports Arena
  • Clubs
  • Theaters
  • Malls
  • Gyms
  • Amusement Parks
  • Swimming Pools
  • No Fresh Booking by Halls and Conference Halls
  • All MTC Buses and Private Buses
  • Chennai Metro Rail Services
  • Schools and Colleges

Corona Virus / COVID 19 Helpline numbers across Tamil nadu

DistrictPhone Numbers
Ariyalur04329-228709
Erode0424-2260211
Ooty0423-2444012 / 2444013
Cuddalore04142-220700
Karur04324-256306
Kallakurichi1077 04146-223265
Kanyakumari04652-231077
Kanchipuram044-27237107 / 27237207
Krishnagiri04343-234424
Coimbatore0422-2301114
Sivagangai04575-246233
Chengalpattu044- 27237107/27237207
Chennai044-25243454
Salem0427-2452202
Thanjavur04362-230121
Dharmapuri04342-230562 / 234500
Dindigul0451-2460320
Trichy0431-2418995
Tirunelveli0462-2501070 / 2501012
Tirupattur04179-222111
Tirupur0421-2971199
Thiruvannamalai04175-232377
Tiruvallur044-27664177 / 27666746
Thiruvarur04366-226623
Thoothukudi0461-2340101
Tenkasi0462-2501070 / 2501012
Theni04546-261093
Nagapattinam04365-252500
Namakkal04286-281425 / 8220402437
Pudukkottai04322-222207
Perambalur04328-224455
Madurai0452-2546160
Ranipet0416-2258016
Ramanathapuram04567-230060
Virudhunagar04562-252601 / 252017
Villupuram04146-223265
Vellore0416-2258016

The Government of Tamilnadu had already extended the Janata Lockdown till 5 am on Monday, March 23, 2020.

List of Exempt Services / Activities

State Government, Autonomous Bodies, Corporations etc. –

  1. Departments of the Secretariat and the Heads of Departments of Health and Family Welfare, Public, Home, Finance, RD & PR, MAWS, Co-operation, Food, and Consumer Protection, P&AR, Revenue, Law, Transport, Social Welfare, Industries, Housing, MS&ME, Labour & Employment, regulatory departments like Pollution Control Boards, Legal Metrology, Boiler Administration, Drug Control, Highways, and Minor Ports, Public Works Department, Commercial Taxes and Registration, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Dairying, Handloom, Handicrafts Textiles and Khadi, Welfare of Differently Abled, Director of Information and Public Information shall function with required staff.
  2. Police, Prohibition and Excise, Home Guards, Fire & Rescue Services, Prisons, and Social Defence Homes.
  3. Courts
  4. District Administration
  5. Public Utilities – Electricity Boards, Public Works Department, Metro Water (TWAD Board), Water Supply, Sewerage, and Municipal Services.
  6. Urban Local Bodies
  7. Village Panchayats and Panchayat Unions.
  8. Hospitals and all Health-related establishments, including Animal Husbandry
  9. Regional Transport Offices
  10. Commercial Taxes and Registration Offices
  11. Treasury and Sub-Treasury
  12. Public Distribution System shops and related offices
  13. Aavin and Milk Unions
  14. Amma Canteens with adequate social distancing.
  15. Any other office considered necessary by the District Collector / State Government. For those offices that are shut down, the officers/staffs shall remain on “work from home” basis and can be summoned for duty as and when required and Government employees should be available on call.

B. Government of India Agencies

  1. Defense, Para Military, Tax / Revenue related (eg. Income Tax, Customs, GST, etc.), Medical Services & related Public Utilities, Ports Immigration, MEA branch secretariat, FRRO, Development Commissioner, MEPZ, Joint Director, Foreign Trade, Food Corporation of India, Post Offices, Railways, Airports, Doordarshan, All India Radio and any other media.

C. Commercial and Private Establishments

  1. Hospitals, Dispensaries, Clinics, Chemist shops, Optical stores, oxygen cylinder units, Pharmaceuticals, medical equipment manufacturing/service units, health-related manufacturing units including mask and sanitation material manufacturing units and their transportation-related activities.
  2. Food including Rice, Pulses, Edible oil, Spices and condiments, Processed food, Groceries, Milk, Bread, Fruit, Vegetable, Meat, Eggs, Fish, Rice, and other essential and perishable products and their transportation-related activities and warehousing
  3. Dairy, Poultry feed, fodder, fodder units & Milk Booths.
  4. Banks & ATM (as per RBI regulations)
  5. Press and Media offices and establishments
  6. IT, Financial Services Back Offices and ITES Companies. IT and
  7. ITES units will ensure employees work from home. Where it is not feasible to do so, units dealing with critical and essential services will continue to operate taking all protective measures.
  8. Restaurants, Eateries, Kitchens – only take away (seating not permitted). In tea shop no gathering is allowed.
  9. Petrol Pumps, LPG Gas and Bottling plants, Oil Agencies, Petroleum & Gas Stations / Depots/product outlets, and their godowns transportation.
  10. Depositories, Stock Brokers and SEBI Registered Participants, subject to SEBI guidelines.
  11. E-Commerce, Pharmaceutical, and other essentials. However, home delivery of food items through aggregators like Swiggy, Zomato, Uber eats is prohibited.
  12. Agriculture and Horticulture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries related shops and markets.
  13. All security services including those provided by private agencies.

D. Factories, Workshops and Industries

  1. Medical supplies/equipment, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech units.
  2. Food-related / food processing industries, including flour mills
  3. Those units which are of a continuous nature where immediate shutting down would disrupt the on-going process for a long time or not possible Chemical factories.
  4. All industries permitted to operate shall work at 50% of their strength on rotation basis.
  5. Export units and SEZs at 50% of their strength on a rotation basis.
  6. Manufacturing units engaged in production of essential commodities, agriculture commodities & agriculture inputs, food items and wholesalers, retailers of such items.
  7. Transport arrangements made by the IT, ITES, industries, and establishments to transport their employees from home and drop.

E. Transport

  1. Ambulances
  2. Vehicles / Cabs owned or contracted by the companies under exempted categories for transportation of staff to workplace and back.
  3. All Goods Carriers (trucks, tempos, container trailers, etc.)
  4. Taxis to and fro from airport, hospitals to home
  5. Hearse/funeral services vehicles
  6. Government vehicles engaged in essential services/duties

F. Public Utilities and Media Services

  1. Electricity- Generation, Transmission and distribution,
  2. Water supply Sewerage and Municipal Services
  3. Print and Electronic Media
  4. Postal, Telecom and Internet Service Provider (ISPs)
  5. Ports and Airports
  6. All essential construction activities subject to disease prevention measures as per protocol and continuous monitoring and health status of workers.
  7. Manufacture, transport and delivery of drinking water cans, bottles and packaged water.
  8. Godowns and warehouses

G. Health and Medical Services

  1. All pregnant women who are expected to deliver in the ensuing months shall be listed, monitored and assisted by field personnel of health department to ensure institutional deliveries.
  2. All elective surgeries may be rescheduled in private and Government hospitals as may be required after setting aside necessary beds for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

H. Revenue Administration, Local Bodies, Police and General Points

  1. All Private establishments that support the above services or are linked to the efforts for containment of COVID-19 will remain open.
  2. Services to Working women hostels, services to old age persons and old age homes, differently-abled persons and orphanages are exempted.
  3. All exempted units shall ensure the necessary precautionary measure, hygiene, and safety of the employees, including maintaining 3 feet of social distancing, frequent hand-washing of employees, disinfection of premises and transport vehicles.
  4. Shops that are under the exempted categories shall ensure that at any given time are not crowded and customers inside also maintain social distancing of 3 feet between each other. The premises shall be cleaned and disinfected three times daily. They shall also ensure that sanitizers are provided at the entrance for all customers.
  5. Resident Welfare Associations shall take necessary measures for social distancing and for maintaining essential services. If any violation is found, the same shall be informed to Local Bodies / Local Health Authority by President/ Secretary of RWAs.
  6. All items/services mentioned in these notifications include their production, manufacturing, transport, storage, wholesale, retail etc., and are included as essential items/services. In respect of the drivers and workforce involved in loading/unloading, the manufacturer shall provide necessary preventive measures.
  7. If there is any doubt as to whether a service is essential or not, the Collector and District Magistrate shall be the competent authority to decide. In the case of Chennai, Commissioner of Chennai Corporation will be the competent authority. In case, any order issued earlier which is in contradiction to this order then these orders shall prevail.
  8. In respect of other private establishments that support the above services, any doubt as to whether an establishment is covered under this clause shall be decided by the District Collector concerned. In the case of Chennai, Commissioner of Chennai Corporation will be the competent authority.
  9. The police shall render necessary assistance as and when requisitioned by the aforementioned officers.
  10. All employers will make payments of wages/salaries to workers/employees including those working on contractual and outsourcing basis during this period.
  11. District Collectors will take all steps to ensure that there is no disruption in the provision of essential commodities and service as mentioned in this order.
  12. All Government departments, institutions, organizations, agencies etc. should ensure that in the course of departmental work that people do not congregate in large numbers.
  13. All District Collectors, District Superintendent of Police, Commissioners of Police, Municipal Commissioners of Corporations and competent authorities of all departments organisations and establishments shall take all necessary steps for the enforcement and implementation of the above said regulations.
  14. Any person found violating the above measures shall be deemed to have committed an offense punishable under section 188 and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860). Such a person shall, in addition, be dealt with under the provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, The Disaster Management Act, 2005.
  15. The restrictions imposed earlier shall continue to be in force. Anganwadis, schools, colleges, Government welfare hostels, malls, theatres, large centrally air-conditioned shops amusement parks, swimming pools, Gymnasium, zoos, museums, libraries, tourist resorts, tourist places, beaches, local shandies will continue to remain closed during this period.
  16. All religious places are closed for public darshan/worship. However, daily rituals may be conducted.
  17. The examination scheduled on 24.3.2020 for +2 students will be conducted as scheduled. However, +1 exams scheduled on 26.3.2020 stand postponed. All other exams related to colleges, schools and Government recruitments stand postponed.
  18. Marriages already fixed on or before 16.3.2020 in marriage halls alone can be conducted subject to a maximum number of 30 guests. The marriage halls are instructed to return the advance paid by the public for all canceled bookings.
  19. In case of any doubt, the State Government will issue necessary directions / clarifications.
  20. No suit or legal proceeding shall lie against any person for anything done or intended to be done in good faith under this order.
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