CHENNAI: Three members of the same family of fishermen at Kasimedu in north Chennai were tested positive for COVID 19 on Saturday evening.
The members of the family were taken to Stanley Medical College Hospital immediately after they tested positive and their street has been cordoned off.
Corporation officials said that the 55-year-old mother, daughter and son, both in their 30s, had no travel history and have never gone out of the area.
“Earlier, one boy had got the virus in their street in Kasimedu. From him, the sister of the 55-year-old who lives in the next street had got the virus. It may have likely passed to them when the sister had visited their house,’’ said the Corporation health staff.
With five testing positive for the virus in the same neighbourhood, officials suspect a possibility of community transmission in this cluster as this is not the sole incident. Also, hardly two kilometres away, two residents of Old Washermenpet, similarly with no travel history had earlier tested positive for the virus. All these localities are densely populated.
Officials said the Old Washermenpet family have visited Amma Canteen and Ration shop, and thus, they may have got it from someone else.
This raises a concern among epidemiologists on community transfer happening in hotspots. Dr P Sampath, Joint Director of Public Health Department (Epidemiology), said spread would be faster in hotspots and high risk people must be moved to quarantine facilities.
“Civic bodies must ensure there is adequate facility quarantine while people too must follow home quarantine rules strictly. Since this is an airborne disease, we have to take rigorous steps to contain it,’’ he said.
Dr Sampath added that 50 percent of the world is already exposed to the virus and this must be the only time to act.
Corporation Commissioner G Prakash told The New Indian Express that a city wide surveillance is being done daily which will cover the active surveillance part. “We will be with extra focus on case identified areas,’’ he said.
Both Old Washermenpet and Kasimedu comes under Tondiarpet Corporation Zone which is an hotspot. Totally, 26 cases have been reported here so far.
Neighbouring Corporation Zone Royapuram has 73 cases, the most for a zone in Chennai corporate limits.