Panel says TN can’t open up fully on May 3

Julie.Mariappan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:1.5.2020

A state health experts committee on Covid-19 that met the chief minister on Thursday has advised a staggered exit from the lockdown and said Tamil Nadu cannot open up completely when the nationwide lockdown ends on May 3.

The committee met Edappadi K Palaniswami and senior government officials at the secretariat in Chennai over precautions to be followed during partial relaxation of the lockdown. “Lockdowncannot be lifted fully in the state. The situation is such that it cannot be done… Lockdown can be lifted in a phased manner,” said Prabhdeep Kaur, deputy director, national institute of epidemiology, and expert member of the panel. The committee took note of the hike in number of people being tested and jump in positive cases in TN over the past 15 days.

Panel advises against allowing public transport in TN for a month

A source said, “The state cabinet will decide on Saturday. Some corporations such as Chennai, Coimbatore and Tirupur where cases are high will maintain status quo. An expert panel on exit strategy will make a presentation before the CMon Friday and moresector-specific relaxations are expected.”

According to sources, the health committee has made zone-specific recommendations to the government: Partial relaxation in orange zones, status quo with a few more exemptionsin redzones, andtotal relaxation in green zones. The committee has told the government not to allow public transport, public gathering, and opening of cinemas and places of worship across the state for at least a month. According to Kaur, while positive cases were on the rise in certain districts, many also recordeddecline. “We have suggested indicators from epidemiological and health system point of view. The government could relax lockdown in certain areas based on surveillance and data analytics,” she said.

Even if the state decides to relax thelockdown,certain measuressuch as social distancing, personal hygiene and wearing masks in public places must be adhered to. “We have to change our lifestyle. The virus is going tostayfor a long time,” shesaid.

Elderly people, who are most vulnerable, must be protected and interactions with them by young people must be restricted. Similarly, people with co-morbidities should get proper treatment to reduce Covid-19 risk. The expert said the state should continue measures such as surveillance, contact tracing, isolation of detected cases and quarantine. Only with communitysupport, the situation could be brought under control.

Epidemiologist Dr G Kuganantham said the government should ensure 25 districts where cases have seen a decline should progress to green zones. “Private hospitals should have a separate wing for ILI/SARI/Covidcaseswith adequate protective equipment,” Kaur said.