CHENNAI: The New Year has dawned in Tamil Nadu with a new set of lockdown restrictions. On a day when 74 new Omicron cases were confirmed in the State, the TN government imposed new curbs for 10 days, starting Saturday.
The decision was taken after a consultation meeting under Chief Minister MK Stalin on Friday. The fresh restrictions include a ban on physical classes for students up to Class 8 and 50 per cent cap on customers at commercial establishments. Participants in weddings should be restricted to 100, and only 50 people will be allowed to take part in funerals, a statement from the CM said.
While restrictions on social, cultural, and political gatherings would continue, play and nursery schools (LKG and UKG) too would be barred. Physical classes for Classes 1 to 8 will be stopped till January 10. All kinds of exhibitions are to be postponed. Stalin said dine-in services in restaurants and bakeries will be allowed with 50 per cent occupancy. Hostels, lodges, gyms, sports activities, restaurants located within entertainment parks, too, can function only with 50 per cent customers.
On Friday, the State reported 1,155 cases of Covid-19, a jump from the 890 cases reported on Thursday. The test positivity rate (TPR) also increased from 0.84 per cent on Thursday to 1.10 per cent.
The Directorate of Public Health’s bulletin on Friday said the State breached the three-digit mark in the total number of Omicron cases. Of the 117 samples sent for genome sequencing, reports of 115 were received. While 74 were tested positive for the Omicron variant, 41 were tested for the Delta variant. The State now has reported a total of 120 Omicron cases.
Health Minister Ma Subramanian said of the 74 fresh Omicron cases, 63 are in Chennai, two in Chengalpattu, and one each in Kanniyakumari, Coimbatore, Pudukottai, Thanjavur, Tiruvallur, Trichy, and Ranipet districts.
City hostel cluster: 34 students test positiveI
The minister reiterated that the community spread of the Omicron variant is already on, and cautioned people to take measures. Meanwhile, a day after reporting a Covid-19 cluster in Ashok Nagar, Chennai reported another cluster at a model school hostel in Saidapet. According to corporation officials, 34 students staying at the hostel tested positive. The students, who are from different schools, were staying at the hostel inside the school, and taking special coaching classes for NEET.
Recently, one student, who went home to celebrate Christmas, developed Covid-19 symptoms upon returning to the hostel. He had fever, cough, and a sore throat, and tested positive. Following the index case, officials tested 90 students at the hostel. Of them 34 tested positive — 10 are girls and 24 boys.
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The officials isolated 32 students at an Urban Primary Health Centre (UPHC) in Injambakkam, which was made a Covid care centre. One has been isolated at the Government Corona Hospital at King Institute in Guindy, and the other in a private hospital. The officials said all the students were stable and their samples were sent for genome sequencing to see if they have an ‘S’ gene drop, a marker for Omicron.
The authorities also declared the campus a containment zone. Health Minister Ma Subramanian and Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan visited the students at the UPHC. Chennai Corporation Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi on Thursday said random testing would be done in schools, colleges, and hostels for early detection of cases so that the infection doesn’t spread to more people.
New restrictions