VELLORE: While Tirupattur and Ranipet continue to register minimal or zero COVID-19 cases over the last three months, the districts' Health Departments are monitoring the situation, officials said on Monday.
"We are taking 500 samples everyday and paying special attention to people from other cities and people outside the State during the screening. Around 2 lakh people from Tirupattur work in Chennai and Bengaluru and other cities, and there is possibility of the infection spreading from big cities," Dr Senthil, Deputy Director of Health Services, Tirpathur told The New Indian Express.
Apart from that, routine preventive measures are followed like ensuring masking in public places, improving vaccination coverage, following SOPs in schools, among other measures, he added.
According to the deputy director, "The district administration is conducting mobile medical camps at 75 places every day with each camp covering at least 200 persons. The camps will identify persons with Covid-19 symptoms apart from offering health services."
Amid the mild rise in fresh cases, Chief Minister MK Stalin recently conducted a meeting with Collectors and officials. He urged officials to improve vaccine coverage, and screen and monitor clusters in religious festivals, social gatherings.
Meanwhile, 27,017 people took the jab in the special mega vaccination drive in Tirupattur district on Sunday. Around 1,534 took the first dose, 24,485 took the second and 998 took the precautionary/booster doses here. Nearly 215 children took the Corbevax.
In Ranipet district, 39,801 persons took vaccines at the special mega vaccination camp on Sunday. As many as 17,759 persons were in the 18-44 age category, 7,433 were in the 45 - 60 age category, 5,813 persons were above 60 years of age.
Around 38 children in the 12- 14 age category and 5 children in the 15- 17 category were inoculated. "The caseload remains low for months. On Monday Ranipet recorded five fresh cases. We're monitoring the situation," Dr V Manimaran told The New Indian Express.
The vaccine coverage of adults in Tirupathur is at 85 per cent and 68 per cent for the first and the second doses respectively. The inoculation coverage among children below 18 years crossed 80 per cent and will further improve in the coming days as the schools reopen on Monday, officials said. Public taking up vaccines and booster doses fell after the reduction of caseload in the State and there is also hesitancy, officials added.