Chennai restaurant asked to down shutters on its opening day for violating Covid norms

The state government Sunday issued a set of fresh restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19. The restrictions, which will come into effect from April 20, include a night curfew from 10 pm to 4 am and full lockdown on Sundays.

The restaurant called Wedding Biryani attracted a huge crowd for its launch on Sunday, with many people queuing up at Velachery for more than two hours. The place had given wide publicity to its launch, having invited popular food vloggers and offering up to 50 per cent discount on food on the opening day.

Vehicles were parked in a haphazard manner in front of the restaurant and as the crowd swelled by the passing hour, social distancing norms went for a toss. There were also many who did not wear masks.

Local residents and passersby then informed the Greater Chennai Corporation officials, while some people also took to Twitter and tagged the civic body urging it to initiate action against the restaurant.

Thereafter, a couple of police personnel reached the area and instructed the people to maintain distance and wear masks but their appeals went unheeded. Within a couple of hours, Chennai Corporation officials inspected the restaurant and sealed it for not following the Covid SOP.

Hi, the said location is locked and sealed for not maintaining Covid-19 SOP. Thanks for bringing this to our notice. pic.twitter.com/vmvIHwmzpI

— Greater Chennai Corporation (@chennaicorp) April 18, 2021

In another unrelated incident, 26 more employees of Saravana Stores in Purasawalkam have tested positive for Covid-19.

Some of the employees were staying in a dormitory which was located in the same building that houses the store.

In the first sample that was tested on Friday, a total of 13 employees had tested positive. The second sample test, which was conducted on Saturday and whose results came on Monday, showed that 26 more people have been infected.

Some of the employees were staying in a dormitory which was located in the same building that houses the store. The furniture and home appliance store at Kasiappar street has been closed. The building has now been sealed and the entire street barricaded.

While some of the workers have been admitted to Communicable Disease Hospital, the others are in home isolation.