CHENNAI: With a surge in Covid cases over the last 10 days, the Corporation has reintroduced a slew of measures to control the virus. A dynamic list of 20 wards that register highest numbers of cases is taken everyday, where mobile fever clinics have made a comeback in the last two weeks. For the last five to six months, fever clinics were in fixed locations.
Further, the Corporation has also brought back fever surveillance process where NULM (National Urban Livelihoods Mission) workers will visit households once every week to check for symptoms. Houses where patients have been identified will be disinfected twice (on day 1 and day 3), a senior Corporation official told Express.
Ambattur, Anna Nagar, Teynampet, Adyar and Kodambakkam zones are presently reporting most of the cases. “So far, we are not seeing many streets reporting a large number of cases. There are only two streets in Chennai (out of 39,000) and about four apartments where cases are high,” the senior official said. When cases are detected, families living in proximity may be vaccinated on priority, he added.
On Saturday, Corporation staff in Sholinganallur zone undertook testing in densely populated areas, like the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board tenements in Semmenchery. “We ask shopkeepers to get tested because they are at high risk. Anyone else who might have symptoms are also free to get tested. Today, we took around 46 samples from Semmenchery and around 400 samples throughout the zone,” said a sanitary inspector.
Reason for surge
As far as Chennai is concerned, families are increasingly letting their guard down, according to Corporation officials. “Earlier, when even one person in the family has symptoms, they used to isolate themselves so there were no family clusters. Now, they’re letting their guard down which results in all members contracting the virus,” the official said. T here are around 130 such families who have tested positive in the city, the official added.
Vaccinated on March 19: 27,173
Total vaccination until March 19: 4,10,949
Active cases in Chennai as on March 19: 2,552
People attended fever camps on March 19: 19,125
Symptomatic patients in fever camps: 94
TN records over 1K cases 2nd day
Fresh cases 1,243
Deaths 8
Active cases 7,291
After a gap of three months, Saturday was the second day on which the State reported 1000+ cases (previously on Friday: 1,087 cases)
City and its neighbouring districts
Chennai: 458
Chengalpattu: 134
Tiruvallur: 87
Coimbatore and Thanjavur added 103 and 85 cases respectively