RANIPET: The Ranipet district administration is taking containment measures on a war footing after projections estimated that the Covid tally in the district would touch 8,000 by August 4. As per the latest health bulletin, the district has reported 4,306 cases so far, of which 1,658 are active.
In view of the emerging situation, the district monitoring officer and joint commissioner of Commercial Taxes, G Laxmi Priya, on Tuesday, visited various facilities in the district. She said, “The projections show that the district will touch 8,000 cases by August 4. However, only 50 per cent of them will be active.”
She attributed absence of social distancing and failure to wear face masks as main reasons for the spike. Stepping up of testing too has resulted in reporting more cases, she said, adding that more cases have been reported in July.
The district authorities have stepped up the testing rate. The bed capacity of various healthcare facilities also has been increased in recent days. Officials said that they are planning to strengthen the bed capacity in the district to 4,700. Meanwhile, Collector S Divyadharshini said the administration was planning to slap fines on those who fail to wear face masks.