CHENNAI: In a move that would benefit many office-goers, the COVID-19 fever camps in Chennai will soon be extended till the night and will target marketplaces and slum areas.
Addressing reporters here on Thursday, Health Secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan said fever camps will also be held from 3 pm to 5 pm in marketplaces and, further, till 8 pm in some localities to screen more people. “The camps will be focused around the slum localities,’’ he said.
Presently, the first batch of fever camps begin at 8:30 am and ends at 11, while the second batch begins at 11.30 am and ends at 1.30 pm.
While about 30,000 people attended the camps daily during the lockdown period, once the lockdown was lifted, the number of people attending the camps decreased by 10,000, mostly due to many people returning to their workplaces.
Officials expect this move to help office-goers attend the fever camps in the evening.
Addressing reporters in the same press conference, Corporation Commissioner G Prakash said the civic body will soon cross 16 lakh RT-PCR tests which is 20 percent of the city’s population.
“We have ramped up daily tests by about three times from the last two months and they will be ramped up further beyond 15,000,” he said.
He said that the aim is to bring the positivity rate to seven percent by the end of October. “This month and November are critical months and enforcement of masks will be strict,’’ he said, noting that many people are seen without masks.
When questioned repeatedly by reporters on why the corporation has not taken action against political parties for violating social distancing norms but has only been pulling up the general public, Prakash said the civic body will take action soon.
“The COVID protocols apply to everyone and we have told all parties to follow the norms in a meeting held recently. We will take action,’’ he said.
He also added that restaurants failing to comply with COVID safety norms will be sealed for a minimum of one month.
Meanwhile, the civic body is also set to conduct another sero-survey to identify COVID-19 antibodies. “The survey will be held in random streets in slum areas. We will know the results soon and the survey will be expanded to other districts too,’’ the health secretary said.