CHENNAI: Of the 369 COVID-19 containment zones in Chennai, 37 have been active for more than a month, giving a tough time for officials trying to contain the spread there.
As per the new classification, if a containment zone does not have positive cases for at least 14 days, then it can be denotified. Earlier, till May 18, the denotification criteria used to be 28 days.
As per the data, Royapuram alone has eight hotspots which have been active for more than a month. Officials said that containing the spread in the slums here is a huge challenge.
“The spread has been intense in areas like Pudumanaikuppam in Royapuram since May as the neighbourhood is congested,’’ an official with Royapuram zone said.
Raman Street and Pidariyar Kovil Street, which are just 1 kilometre away, have had close to 100 cases so far. Similarly, the neighbouring zone, Tondiarpet, which has 1951 active cases, has three containment zones active for more than a month.
Solaiappan Street, which is about three kilometres long, has been a containment zone since May 13. “This street is very long to monitor. There are several markets here that people keep stepping out to. Even a nursing home was temporarily sealed here for treating COVID patients,’’ an official with the zone said.
Worse, one containment zone in Nerkundram and another in Ambattur’s Padi Kuppam have been active since the last week of April. Padikuppam was one of the prime hotspots associated with the Koyambedu market cluster.
“Cases came up in large numbers in Padi Kuppam during contact tracing of the Koyambedu cluster. Slums are rampant here and there have been about 100 cases here so far,’’ an official with the Ambattur zone said.
On the brighter side, a few zones in South Chennai did not have any active containment zones going beyond a month. They are Zone 8 (Anna Nagar), Zone 10 (Kodambakkam), Zone 15 (Sholinganallur).
GCC’s Health Department officials attribute the better containment strategies implemented in South Chennai to the vast geographical area and lower population density.
“People don’t live close to each other and apartments are more here. So, people were able to quarantine themselves without much discomfort,’’ a top health department official said.
The official added that the 37 containment zones active for more than a month would be the top priority for the corporation. To narrow down on hotspots, the civic body has set up fever clinics for early assessment.
On Sunday, 203 fever clinics were set up across the city and 10,541 people attended. 392 people with Influenza Like Illnesses were sent for tests.
The focus was clearly more on Royapuram, as 65 camps were conducted there and 199 ILI cases were picked up from the 3048 people who attended.
“The teams have begun fever camps and door-to-door screening, with focus on the worst affected hotspot. This will show results soon, given that there’s going to be a lockdown too,’’ the official said.