Cooperate with govt, adopt norms of lockdown: CM to biz men

Sealing the shops is not advisable," he said. Underscoring the need for ramping up tests for COVID-19 in the Union Territory, the Chief Minister said more the testing, the faster would be identification of the prevalence of the infection among the people.

Puducherry, July 3 (PTI): Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy on Friday called upon businessmen in the Union Territory to ensure they and their staff followed norms of COVID-19 lockdown. The shopowners and their employees should wear masks and maintain social distancing to check the spread of the virus. They should also see to it that customers visiting the shops also followed the norms, he told reporters here through a virtual conference.

The Chief Minister asked the officials concerned not to resort to sealing the shops for failure to follow lockdown norms. "The defaulting shopowners could be warned and a fine may be levied. Sealing the shops is not advisable," he said.

Underscoring the need for ramping up tests for COVID-19 in the Union Territory, the Chief Minister said more the testing, the faster would be identification of the prevalence of the infection among the people. As part of the efforts to conduct larger number of tests, the government had pressed into service mobile- testing units in Puducherry and Karaikal regions, he said.

The government-run hospitals in Villianoor and Karikalambakkam would be equipped with the facility for testing of swabs, he said. The Chief Minister appealed to privately-run medical colleges to cooperative with the government and take up swab test.

Narayanasamyhad visited Karaikal on Thursday, along with Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao and other Ministers, for reviewing the anti-COVID-19 steps taken there. He said the border points linking Karaikal limits with neighbouring Tamil Nadu pockets of Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai had been brought under close vigil and instructions given to seal the border to keep flow of people from outside under check.