Madurai rate drops to 7 per cent, says Revenue Minister RB Udhayakumar

He attributed the success to the stringent lockdown measures enforced in Madurai after the district saw a sudden surge in COVID-19 infection rates three weeks ago. From 5 per cent, it had climbed to 20 per cent during that period. To contain the spread, complete lockdown was effected in Madurai as directed by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam. “It’s a good sign that people in Madurai have been cooperating to bring down the virus spread,” he said.

Madurai Collector TG Vinay’s aggressive push to hold fever camps and testing has also helped, he added. Over the last seven days, around 950 patients have recovered and were discharged from hospitals. Currently, there are 3,403 active cases reported in the district.

The Minister said Madurai was next to Chennai in the State in testing samples - 96,191 samples have been tested so far. He added that the Paravai wholesale vegetable market, which remained closed for 25 days now, would be temporarily shifted to Uchapatti-Thoppur Satellite Town in Madurai.