Chennai climbs out of viral spiral but neighbours catch the infection

In the case of Tiruvallur where the numbers have been hovering between 250 and 300 every day for the past few weeks, 526 new cases were reported on Thursday to take the total number of confirmed cases to 8,107 confirmed cases. With 3,112 patients still under treatment, the district is in the third position behind Chennai and Madurai when it comes to active cases, show data from the Health Department.

Of the 8,107 cases in the district, 2,062 cases were reported after July 8. Also, 35 of the 141 COVID-19 deaths in Tiruvallur happened during the period.

When asked, a Health official from the district attributed the increase in cases to increased testing. “We are testing around 4,000 samples every day. Due to this, we are able to identify more cases and arrest the infection from spreading,” he said.

The official added that cases were more in areas like Avadi, Tiruverkadu, Ponneri, Poonamallee, and other urban local bodies abutting Chennai.

“We have introduced mobile sample collection vehicles and are conducting 40 to 50 fever clinics every day to identify positive cases,” he added.

Meanwhile, the newly formed Chengalpattu district reported 8,908 cases so far, including 2,107 active cases.

“More than 2,000 cases have been reported in the district within the last 10 days. As the populous suburbs like Tambaram, Pallavaram and Chromepet, and few places in ECR, border Chennai, the virus spread in Chengalpattu is high,” said an official from the district.

District Collector A John Louis said the district administration has started identifying streets that have two or more cases and lock it down for 14 days. “So far, more than 15 streets have been sealed in Maduranthagam and Pallavaram areas,” he said. Fever camps were being conducted in all the areas to identify people who have symptoms like fever and cold, and added that the number of camps would be increased, he added.

The people were supporting the district administration by wearing masks, said the Collector. “That itself is a huge support and will help control the virus spread. We created awareness among the public on wearing masks, and that is working,” he said.

As many as 50 employees of a textile showroom in Poonamallee were tested positive for the virus on Thursday. According to sources, samples from around 60 employees were tested after one of the employees tested positive earlier. “Following this, the shop has been locked and the infected persons and other staff have been quarantined,” a source said.