Mayhem in May as coronavirus wreaks havoc in Tamil Nadu

Number of deaths multiplied six times and number of cases by ten times in the month; officials say that the top challenge is protecting the vulnerable herd
An Assam-based woman holding her baby as she waits for her train at Central Railway Station. (Photo | P Jawahar
An Assam-based woman holding her baby as she waits for her train at Central Railway Station. (Photo | P Jawahar

CHENNAI: The summer month of May kept the medical professionals in the State unusually busy with each day throwing up more COVID-19 cases. As the State is now stepping into Lockdown 5.0 or Unlock 1.0, officials say that the top challenges are protecting the vulnerable sections and ensuring social distancing in public places.

From just 2,323 cases on April 30, the State went on to record a whopping 22,333 confirmed cases on May 31. In May alone, there were 20,010 cases across the State.The Coronavirus mortality rate was also not different. It was six times more in May compared to the month before that. About 84 per cent of the deceased had comorbid conditions while 50 per cent of the victims were above the age of 60.

Chennai alone has contributed 14,802  cases and 129 deaths, which accounts for almost 70 per cent of the State’s numbers.Health Minister C Vijayabaskar had said that diabetes and hypertension were the major co-morbid conditions of most of the deceased people. Meanwhile, a ground work by Express showed that more than 50 per cent of the victims without co-morbidities were late admissions in critical hours.On the bright side, 12,757 people have been discharged as of May, which is higher than the 9,400 active cases.  

Lockdown 5.0 and key issues

Regarding the challenges laying ahead for the State in June, Dr Jayaprakash Muliyil, chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the National Institute of Epidemiology said, “Preventing deaths is the biggest challenge now.” Muliyil said adding that there is no denial of community transmission happening in Chennai. “Containment serves no purpose anymore as the magnitude of the virus-spread is so large,” he added.In Chennai, the containment zones came down to 201 on Sunday and seemingly, no new containment zones were coming up due to the State’s revised policies.

“The disease has evolved differently in different places in TN. Focussing on hospitals and healthcare must be the priority now. With adequate oxygen supply, more people could be saved,” he said.Senior epidemiologist and a member of the COVID-19 special task force Dr P Kuganantham said people’s cooperation will be a big challenge in the coming days. “Hotels and salons must strictly follow the norms. People should adhere to social distancing in buses too,” he said, pointing out that 24x7 monitoring or policing was not possible. Dr TS Selvavinayagam, director of Public Health, said the State’s strategy for the coming days would be focussed on the elderly, vulnerable ones.

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