CHENNAI: The daily COVID-19 positivity rate in Chennai fell to 11.87 % on July 7, data released by the Chennai Corporation reveals. The drop comes at a time when the monthly positivity rate has come down from 24.2 % in June to 18.2 % in July.
The number of positive cases has stayed around the 1200 mark for the past two days, even with more than 10000 tests being done daily.
The doubling rate in the city is now 25 days. On June 19, this figure was 14-15 days.
While the results can be attributed to the intense lockdown when most people stayed home and testing was done at the ward level, the big question is if this encouraging trend will hold now that the city has been unlocked?
Public health experts believe so. They say the city is on the right path while stressing that containment strategies now need a few tweaks.
Prabhdeep Kaur, Deputy Director, Indian Council of Medical Research–National Institute of Epidemiology, said fever camps must be expanded to cover markets, factories and offices.
The city corporation's fever camps had a positivity rate of 31 per cent, as among the 38,280 Influenza Like Illness (ILI) cases, 10,569 people turned positive.
"During the lockdown, people were at home and so, they attended the camps held at ward level. Now, since they are going to work, moving the camps to workplaces will be ideal for testing," said Dr Kaur.
She said that involving the private sector is another measure the Chennai Corporation could adopt to screen people.
"Symptomatic people may take over-the-counter drugs and move on. In such cases, if authorities have a tie-up with pharmacies and local hospitals, it would be easier to pick up cases," Dr Kaur explained.
Experts said that the public must also chip in to prevent any new outbreaks or spread. Everyone must continue to wear masks and practice social distancing.
Infectious Diseases Specialist Dr Ram Gopalakrishnan of Apollo Hospitals said people must be aware of the three main factors that could expose them to the virus.
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"Spending 15 minutes with a person within two metres distance, that too indoors, can put you at high risk. There is also emerging evidence that the spread could be airborne," he said.
Dr Gopalakrishan said big gatherings with 100 to 200 people must be strictly avoided. "Workplaces must have free air-flow and companies should enforce work from home, if possible," he added.
While such measures on the social side could help in containing the spread, advertisement campaigns spreading Covid awareness and expanding the areas covered by testing are also needed steps, said experts.
"Such measures to educate people will play a big role. Apart from this, there must also be exemplary disciple and strict enforcement," Dr Gopalakrishnan observed.
Dr Kaur said the Corporation must focus on emerging hotspots as well.
"A ward level in-depth analysis must be done to identify such places to expand testing," she said.
On Wednesday, the active cases in the city further went down to 31 percent while discharge rate rose to 67 percent.
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