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The Madras High Court on Friday ordered the closure of all state-run TASMAC liquor shops in Tamil Nadu while permitting online and door delivery only. The court order comes after petitioners pointed out crowding and violation of social distancing norms at liquor shops. Earlier, the court had refused to stay the government's decision to open liquor shops in the state.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu recorded about 600 new coronavirus cases on Friday. Out of these, about 399 were reported from capital Chennai alone. Three died of the infection, official data read. The state has so far reported 6,009 coronavirus cases. Out of these, 4361 are active cases. A total of 40 people have died in the state.
Earlier today, the Supreme Court had asked states to consider non-direct contact or online sales and home delivery of liquor during the lockdown period to prevent the spread of coronavirus on account of crowding at the shops. The petitioner's lawyer had argued that there are 70,000 liquor vends across the country and over five crore people till now have purchased liquor from these shops. He said that due to social distancing norms not being followed at the liquor vends and shops, there has been a rise in COVID-19 cases.
