CHENNAI: Street vendors and traders in markets will be selected at random from across the city and tested daily in batches, Chennai corporation commissioner G Prakash told reporters on Wednesday.
“So far, 500-750 vendors in markets across the city are being tested every day to identify COVID-19 cases. This will be done in batches every day to reduce the risk of infection for the public,” he said.
Now, almost 10% of those tested every day are such vendors, he added.
Meanwhile, in the next 10-15 days, 10% of the city’s population would have been tested, Prakash said. The city’s population is estimated to be around 80 lakh now.
“There are very few cities in the world which have tested 10% of their population. In India, we will be the only one so far,” he said.
He said that as a rule of thumb, testing is scaled up by 10 times the number of people who test positive in a day.
“For example, for every 1000 positive cases, the testing will be at 10,000,” he said.
Amid a debate on the ability of N 95 masks to prevent the spread of the virus, the Commissioner said that for the general public two-fold cotton masks would suffice.
“There is no need for N 95 masks unless you are in places where the viral load may be high. For 99% of the public, thick cotton masks, which are able to keep air from coming out when you blow into it, will do,” he said.