CHENNAI: After an increase in Covid-19 cases, the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine instructed all deputy directors of health services to advise immuno-compromised patients and pregnant women to wear face masks in public places and also to test all symptomatic cases.
Twenty people were tested positive for Covid-19 in the state on Sunday, out of which five each are in Chennai and Chengalpattu. The state had been reporting less than 10 cases for the past few months. The DPH also said that awareness should be increased among people to wash hands frequently, wear face masks and avoid crowded places.
As many as 391 people were tested on Sunday and the Test Positivity Rate (TPR) was 6.2%. On December 13, the Union Health Ministry conducted a virtual meeting with all heads of the states and advised them to set up surveillance of Covid-19 cases and ensure preparedness for testing in order to manage the surge, if any. The operational guidelines for the disease have been revised in the view of surge in Covid-19 cases in Thailand, Indonesia, and the neighbouring state of Kerala.