Decline in covid cases temporary, follow safety measures: Health dept

CHENNAI: Though there’s no sudden spike or dip in COVID cases, officials from the State Health Department say that safety measures should not be stopped, as it could be a temporary state.

The graph of the cases has seen a slow decline as 519 cases of COVID-19 were reported on Saturday, taking the total number of cases reported so far in the State to 36,05,384.

The overall test positivity rate (TPR) in the State was above 8% for the last one week but dropped to 7.8% on Saturday. Chengalpattu reported the highest TPR of 11.3%.

The bed occupancy or oxygen need has not increased in the State in the last one month by a large scale but at least 12 deaths have been reported since April 1, 2023. Most fatalities recorded have been of the elderly who had underlying comorbid conditions.

With one more death at a government hospital in Salem on Saturday, the toll has reached to 38,062.

Doctors at the government hospitals say that in case of fatalities, the reason was usually last-minute hospitalisation and condition of the patient worsened due to the underlying health issues. Thus, people with comorbidities need to follow preventive measures to avoid infection.

“We should not lower our guard just because the cases have dipped a bit. Though we’re not witnessing any rise in hospitalisations, the high-risk category needs to be careful and get treated as per the standard treatment protocols,” said a senior official from the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.

COVID count in the city is declining slwoly, with 104 new cases reported on Saturday, while 35 cases were reported in Chengalpattu and 34 in Salem. Other districts reported less than 30 cases. The Nilgiris, Tirupattur and Kallakuruchi had no new COVID cases. Total recoveries have reached 35,63,646.