CHENNAI: Tasmac shops in Chennai, which had remained closed for almost five months, reopened on Tuesday with moderate crowds but many people were still not following social distancing norms, despite barricades being put in place.
Shops in north Chennai’s Old Washermenpet and Tondiarpet areas had moderate crowds upto 1 pm while those in South and Central Chennai witnessed crowds till 10 am.
The customers stood in queues inside the barricades while in some outlets, cops kept a watch on the crowd. Tasmac staff across various outlets in the city said they had sold only upto 100 to 150 tokens till 1 pm.
In stray incidents, a few women in Ekkatuthangal and Anna Nagar staged protests against the opening of Tasmac shops during the pandemic. Police officials had to pacify the protesters.
The reopening of Tasmac outlets comes in the wake of the city recording a spike of more than 1000 COVID-19 cases. This has caused a concern among people from various spheres that the move would compromise COVID-19 containment.
However, public health experts say that opening Tasmac shops is not a problem by itself but how well the COVID-19 prevention norms are enforced there is what matters.
‘Need strict enforcement of Covid protocols’
Infectious diseases specialist Dr Ram Gopalakrishnan at Apollo Hospital says that effective regulation of crowds is essential.
“If crowd regulation is poor, opening up Tasmac shops would amply increase the spread of COVID-19 in the city. We have examples of how cases came up in Koyambedu and large crowds are seen in Kasimedu fish market too,’’ he said.
Experts also worry that opening Tasmac shops may pose a risk to public order. Since the bars are closed, many may consume alcohol either in the outlet premises or on the road. “There is a risk of public order not being maintained and the government needs to effectively handle it,’’ added Dr Gopalakrishnan.
Infectious diseases specialist Dr Subramanian Swaminathan of Gleneagles Global Hospital says that opening Tasmac shops is a ‘high-risk’ activity.
“Any place with a larger public football is a risk and liquor outlets are no different. Can they ensure that they would be able to mitigate risk of infection spreading?’’ questions Dr Swaminathan.
There must be a strong system for risk mitigation, he said, adding that stricter rules and COVID-19 protocols must be enforced.