3 zones account for 57% +ve cases
‘Effective Action Stops Spread In Other Areas’
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Chennai:23.04.2020
The Royapuram, Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, Tondiarpet zones, all neighbours, have accounted for 57% of the total Covid-19 positive cases in the city so far, 204 of the 358 cases. On Tuesday, official data showed, the three zones accounted for 36 of the 55 positive cases in the city, with Royapuram, a Covid-19 hotspot, reporting 24 new cases and taking its total to 116 by Wednesday.
A senior Greater Chennai Corporation official said Tuesday’s spurt was only a day’s aberration and the city’s average was consistent with the overall state average and on a downward trend. “Of the 55 cases recorded on Tuesday, only two were new. The rest were from clusters identified by contact tracing.”
Like the rest of TN, the initial cases in Chennai too were from the same cluster and those tested positive initially are from these three zones, said a health department official.
“The zones, especially Royapuram, comprise localities with narrow streets and buildings with common staircases. In fact, when we began contact tracing, we did not restrict it to the immediate family members alone. Residents of whole buildings were taken for testing and it is still in process,” an official said.
Fisheries minister D Jayakumar, Royapuram MLA, told TOI the corporation and government agencies were working to ensure there is no community spread in Royapuram and across North Chennai. “Though it is a challenging situation, we are dealing it efficiently. People need not fear,” Jayakumar said. A zonal official said around 5,000 litres of disinfectants were sprayed across Royapuram zone The corporation said effective containment had ensured there was no spread to South Chennai. “Of the 420sqkm area of the city, positive cases are restricted to about 2sq km.”
Apart from these three in North Chennai, Anna Nagar, Teynampet and Kodambakkam account for 104 cases and the six zones share 85 % of the positive cases in the city.
The official said the case of journalists testing positive had thrown a new challenge. The office of the television channel where 26 people tested positive is located in the Royapuram zone. “It is going to be tough to trace everyone who came in contact with the reporters as reporters are always on the move and have the highest possibility of infecting others,” another official said.
As on date, the corporation has 118 set up containment zones in the city.
On Tuesday, official data showed, Royapuram, Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, Tondiarpet zones accounted for 36 of the 55 positive cases in the city, with Royapuram, a Covid-19 hotspot, reporting 24 new cases and taking its total to 116 by Wednesday
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