CHENNAI: Crossing yet another grim milestone that would go down the annals of its’s confrontational chronicles with the coronavirus, Chennai surged past one lakh infections, with 1,074 new cases being reported on Saturday. On the bright side, however, cases seem to have stabilised in the city as it has been recording a zero-growth rate since the second week of July.
The recovery rate, at 85.5 per cent, which is second best in the country after Delhi’s 89 per cent, too presents a bright picture. From recording as many as 2,400 cases per day in the first week of July, the city ever since has been witnessing around 1,200 cases per day. A closer look at the city’s Covid data also highlights that the recovery rate has doubled in July.
Close to 50,000 people have recovered in July, while just around 25,000 made it in June. The city’s recovery rate of 85 per cent is higher than the State’s 75 per cent, while the positivity rates of both the State and city are around the same mark.
The cause for concern comes with south Chennai, where all zones have high number of active cases compared to the zones in north Chennai. Currently, Ambattur remains the worst-affected zone with highest active cases of 22 per cent. The case growth rate has also increased in the region.
Corporation officials, on the other hand, are hopeful that the positivity rate will come down to five per cent by the end of August. “The cases have stabilised in the city due to early detection trough door-to-door surveys and fever camps. The measures will continue with the same vigour,’’ a corporation official said.
