Coimbatore, Tirupur remain troubled spots

29.04.2020

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Covid-19 positive cases continued to soar in the biggest hotspot, Chennai, even as some districts in Tamil Nadu recorded a jump in the number of infected people, pushing them deeper into the red zone.

On Monday, Chennai recorded a high 103 with its total Covid cases touching a worrying 673. Neighbouring Chengalpet added 12 to a new tally of 70 while Tiruvallur had 53 cases. Kancheepuram added one on Monday to take its Covid total to 20. With new clusters and their mushrooming contacts Chennai and several districts remained in the red zone.

Coimbatore, the district with the second highest number, got its first few cases from people who returned from abroad. Scores of Tablighi Jamaat returnees turned out to be Covid positives and their family members too tested positive. Over the past 10 days, the number of unlinked cases has started to spike. The officials have been unable to trace the source of infection of six police personnel who tested positive. “That’s why we have gone in for a stringent lockdown within lockdown,” said Coimbatore collector K Rajamani.

In the western region, Tirupur with 112 positive cases and Namakkal (61) have proved worrying. On Tuesday, Namakkal had two new positive cases. Namakkal collector K Megraj said the challenge for the district with a huge truckers’ hub has been the reluctance of people to come forward to test voluntarily. “The official machinery is forced to trace those with contact history,” said Megraj.

Tirupur is yet another district in the west zone that continues to get Covid positive cases regularly. Officials, however, said that except for the first case of Covid positive case in Tirupur, which was a person who returned from London, all the remaining had a travel history to New Delhi or had contacts with those who returned from New Delhi. Tirupur collector K Vijaykarthikeyan was upbeat. He said the incidence of Covid was dropping steadily. “The rate of infection is coming down,’’ he said.

Among the central districts, Thanjavur recorded a total of 55 cases, many of them TJ delegates, their family members and contacts. “After Chennai, Thanjavur had a high number of positive TJ members. “A total of 33 have been discharged,” said collector M Govinda Rao.

Tirunelveli, the first district in the southern region to record a high number of cases, has not seen a fresh case since April 24. The district has recorded a total of 63 cases and is still in the red zone as it has nine active cases. The biggest cluster in the region was Melapalayam town. District collector Shilpa Prabhakar Satish said though there was a lull in cases, they had to be vigilant.