CHENNAI: The active cases in Chennai have come down to one per cent with Tondiarpet and Royapuram becoming the first zones to record near zero per cent active cases. They were also among the first to record highest number of cases in the initial months of lockdown.
According to Greater Chennai Corporation data, there are 70 active cases in Tondiarpet and 81 active cases in Royapuram. Tondiarpet had also topped the sero-survey conducted in July by the civic body to identify antibodies against the virus.
Among the 866 persons surveyed in the zone, 383 samples had antibodies, which is 44.2 per cent. Royapuram zone had the second highest number with 34.4 per cent of the samples having antibodies.
Rest of all the zones in the city have one per cent active cases. Chennai’s active cases stand at 1,604. The city recorded 4,127 deaths till date.
As many as 2,33,779 people tested positive and 2,28, 048 have recovered. Officials say that focused testing is the key to keep cases under control. “We are testing in big offices, industries, and companies. The positivity rate is also low comparatively. The specific zones that we are testing may show a short spike in case growth but overall there is no huge spike,” said a corporation official.
He further added that close to 95 per cent of beds are vacant in the government hospitals. However, the Covid wards are still functioning in full swing in anticipation of any spike. Presently, Anna Nagar has the highest number of active cases (157), followed by Kodambakkam (153). Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, Ambattur, Teynampet, Valasaravakkam and Adyar zones have more than 100 active cases.