In what may come as a disappointment to many, the Tamil Nadu government on Monday banned New Year revelries in the city. People will not be allowed to party in beaches, hotels, clubs and resorts on the night of December 31, 2020 and January 1, 2021 as part of efforts to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. The police in a statement announced that there will be no entry to the beaches dotting the city on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

Midnight revelries would not be allowed on beach roads, restaurants, hotels, clubs, resorts including beach resorts, and similar places on New Year's Eve and the following day, according to an official statement. This order restraining gathering of people in large numbers was passed to minimise the spread of the pandemic.

"The government has been taking concerted measures to contain the spread of the infection and is slowly relaxing the restrictions after a stringent lockdown period of nearly eight months. People should cooperate with the government in containing the virus spread," the release urged.

Regular functioning of hotels, restaurants, clubs and resorts shall however continue with the current standard operating procedures in place, the release added.

The New Year's Eve celebrations this year have been banned as a precautionary measure as advised by medical experts. On December 21, Monday, Tamil Nadu reported 1,071 new COVID-19 cases. A total of 1,157 persons were discharged from hospitals on the same day that also saw 12 COVID-19 patients succumb to the disease. The state presently has 9,495 active COVID-19 cases.

In India, over 70% of the daily new cases are being reported by 10 states and union territory. This includes Kerala, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

(With inputs from PTI)