Teynampet, Tiruvottiyur, Manali show slight rise in active cases

The Greater Chennai Corporation officials said the slight increase was not a cause for worry but asked the public to follow COVID protocols. It was compulsory to wear face masks and maintain physical distancing to keep the infection at bay, Corporation officials said.

The daily new cases came down to 122 on July 26 but it increased thereafter. On July 27, it rose to 139 and the next day it touched 164. On Thursday, it was 181.

According to COVID data analyst Vijayanand, Teynampet showed a slight increase in active cases while other zones remained stable in the central region. In the northern region, all zones looked stable with a mild increase in Tiruvottiyur. The south looked largely stable.

Adyar and Anna Nagar zones recorded the highest number of active cases, 167 and 164 respectively, followed by Teynampet and Ambattur, 137 and 129. The slight increase in the cases comes at a time when the testing was consistently around 24,000 a day. Even the test positivity rate. which went down to 0.5 per cent this month, was up marginally to 0.7 per cent.

“Chennai ‘mobility for shopping’ has increased in last three weeks, which is now much higher than the second wave period in March,” Vijayanand wrote on Twitter comparing Google mobility data from March to April with the last three weeks of July. He said the data showed the increased mobility trend correlated with the rise in cases. People reportedly flocked to public utility spaces like markets when restrictions were eased.

A health officer of the corporation said people let their guard down when there is a hint of cases declining. “People should continue to wear masks in public places even if they have taken two doses of vaccines,” the officer added.