A Corporation official said the government has relaxed only the process to avail e-passes and not home quarantine. “So those coming into the city should undergo home quarantine for 14 days as usual,” the official added.

 He said the e-passes are approved immediately after receiving the application and the details of those returning are saved in the server automatically.

 During a meeting he held with Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan and Corporation officials at the Ripon Building on Wednesday, Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department Secretary Harmander Singh instructed civic body officials to effectively monitor the returnees and home quarantine them. “Zonal officers should send the details of the persons coming to the city to field level officials to make sure the home quarantine rules are followed,” he said in the meeting.

 The civic officials have also been asked to keep vigil in Teynampet and Valasaravakkam, the zones where a large number of persons from other districts are expected to come. Similarly, the civic body is expecting the entry of a large number of guest workers from other states to Ambattur and Adyar zones, in which Ambattur Industrial Estate and Guindy Industrial Estate respectively are located.

 On Tuesday and Wednesday, the first two days since the relaxation of e-pass process came into effect, the civic body approved more than 28,000 applications. From August 1 to August 18, it received 1.41 lakh applications for entering the city, of which only 96,227 were approved.

 A Corporation press statement said that Harmander Singh directed the officials to take strict actions against the persons who violate containment norms and fail to wear masks in public places. Action would also be taken against the private establishments that violate social distancing norms