Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K.Stalin on Sunday announced fresh relaxations in 27 districts. The government, however, continued the extension of Covid lockdown till 6 a.m. on June 28.

An official statement from the Chief Minister’s office said, “All essential government departments will be allowed to function with 100 per cent attendance and the remaining departments will be allowed to function with 50 per cent of their staff.

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“Sub- registrar offices will be allowed to function and all private companies can function with 33 per cent of their staff, the statement said.

“Groceries, vegetable stores and meat stalls will be allowed to function from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and shops selling fruits and vegetables on pavements will also be allowed to function, the official statement said.

Restaurants and bakeries will be allowed to provide only parcel food from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and food delivery services will also be allowed during this period.

The Tamil Nadu government has also allowed intra and inter-district public bus services within Chennai, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, and Tiruvallur districts, categorised as Type III districts but only with 50 per cent of their seating capacity and following the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) issued by the state government. In these districts passengers would be allowed to travel in taxies, cabs, and auto rickshaws without e-registration. Other than the driver only three passengers in taxis and two in autos are permitted, the statement from the CM’s office said.

Chennai Metro will be allowed to function with 50 per cent of the seating capacity and by following the SOP. In Type 11 districts travel by taxis, cabs, and auto rickshaws are permitted but with e-registration only.

In Type II and Type III districts inter-district travel is allowed for attending marriages but only with e-registration, the statement said and application for this can be made to the respective District collector — the district where the wedding is scheduled through the website, http://eregister.tnega.org. Only a maximum of 50 persons are allowed to attend weddings.

Travel for an emergency is only allowed in places like Kodaikanal, Kutralam, Yelagiri and Yercaud only with e-registration, according to the official statement. These places are the tourist spots of Tamil Nadu which attracts a lot of people from far and wide.

The state government has not announced any relaxations in Coimbatore, Erode, Myladuthurai, Karur, Tiruppur, Salem, Namakkal, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, The Nilgiris, Tiruvarur districts. These districts which are classified as Type I districts are reporting fresh Covid-19 cases in large numbers and hence no relaxations in these places.