<span style="color: #222222;">The Covid-19 tally in Tamil Nadu has crossed the 6000 mark today, with the confirmation of six hundred new cases.<br />'' <br />'' Similarly, the number of infected people in Chennai has surpassed the figure of three thousand, with 399 new patients reported from the city.<br />'' <br />'' The state capital carries a little more than half of the total caseload. Three people succumbed to the disease in the last 24-hours increasing the fatalities to 40.<br />'' <br />'' The state health minister Dr Vijayabhaskar told reporters this evening in Chennai the death rate is well under control at 0.68 per cent.  58 people were discharged today.<br />'' <br />'' Meanwhile, the Madras High Court has ordered the closure of liquor outlets in Tamil Nadu.<br />'' <br />'' AIR correspondent reports, in a major development today, the Madras High Court has ordered the closure of all the retail liquor shops being run by the Tamil Nadu government. It has allowed the sale only through online mode.<br />'' <br />'' The government opened the over-the-counter sale of alcohol yesterday to give a boost to the state's sagging revenues.<br />'' <br />'' The High Court imposed certain conditions including ensuring social distancing norms before the shops.<br />'' <br />'' On the very first day, the tipplers are said to have contributed a revenue of about 170 crore rupees to the TASMAC, the state retail agency.<br />'' <br />'' However, the media has been replete with visuals of the masses overcrowding for up to a kilometre distance throwing into air the safety protocols.<br />'' <br />''<br />''Many expressed fears of a new Covid19 cluster opening up in the form of the liquor shops. At this juncture, the Madras High Court has given the direction to shut the shops down.</span>