CHENNAI: After a 60-year-old man and his 54-year-old wife from Old Washermenpet tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday evening, a public distribution shop and Amma Canteen in their locality have been temporarily closed as the couple had visited both several times.
Corporation officials said the couple were taken to the Corporation Sample Testing Centre at the cholera hospital in Tondiarpet three days ago during the door-to-door survey.
“They had symptoms of severe cough and mild fever. The results came late on Friday evening and the couple were taken to Stanley Medical College hospital early on Saturday morning. The street has been cordoned off completely,’’ said a corporation official.
While the civic body has engaged in contact tracing and enquiry, officials say that the patients did not travel anywhere for a long time. “They belong to a poor family and have stayed here. They’ve only been coming out for ration and buying food in the Amma Canteen sometimes,’’ the official said.
Officials suspect that since there have been five COVID-19 cases close to their house in Tondiarpet Zone, there is a high likelihood that they had contracted it in the ration shop or Amma Canteen.
“A rigorous sample testing will be done throughout the day and we will trace all the sources including workers in the PDS shops,’’ added the corporation official.
However, as the Amma Canteen remains an essential service, officials said it would be thoroughly disinfected and opened later in the day after making special arrangements to access it.
“This is the only canteen in this locality and either a special pathway will be made or the canteen would be shifted to a nearby place,’’ officials said.
Meanwhile, it has been observed that people have been unable to maintain social distancing in this area for the last few weeks. Large crowds were present in the ration shops and since the streets are very narrow, people mostly stood close to each other.