Cases may touch 2K, surveillance up

CENTRAL

Cases may touch 2K, surveillance up

Gokul.Rajendran@timesgroup.com  23.06.2020

Covid-19 cases in central Tamil Nadu spiked after people returned from Chennai and other states, taking the tally in the region to 1,856 on Monday.

The region -- which comprises Trichy, Karur, Pudukottai, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagappattinam districts --crossed the 1,000-case mark on June 7, taking two-and-a-half months to reach the tally. In the next 12 days, cases crossed 1,500. Officials attributed the sharp rise to the influx of Chennai returnees.

As the cases spiked, people speculated on the possibility of a lockdown in the central region to contain the spread. Though almost all the districts had Covid-19 cases in double digits after June 1, three delta districts – Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagappattinam -- were hit hard as people from Chennai returned in large numbers.

On June 21, the region recorded its second highest single-day spike of 151 cases with Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam registering 49, 30 and 25 cases. On Monday, the region recorded 150 positive cases. The highest one-day tally in the region was 201 on May 6 when Ariyalur had 188 cases in single day as people from Koyambedu returned.

Public health officials said the region’s tally could cross 2,000 in a day or two if the cases grew at the present rate.

Taking serious note of the sudden spike in cases, authorities across the delta districts intensified checks at the border to prevent those without e-passes from sneaking in. Officials are following up on those who have returned but did not get tested.

Thanjavur collector M Govinda Rao said in a statement that the district administration has intensified the process of tracing Chennai returnees. Teams have traced 125 returnees in Thanjavur corporation area, 338 from rural areas of Thanjavur, 91 from Kumbakonam municipality and 27 from Pattukottai municipality areas in the past few days. All will be tested.

In Trichy, five traders tested positive for Covid-19 after a senior office bearer of the traders’ association contracted the virus. Pudukottai district, that had around 35 cases till last week, has 86 cases as on June 22 as people returned from Chennai. Fearing further spread, vegetable vendors in Pudukottai shut shops after 2pm on Sunday. Public health department officials said residents did not follow social distancing or wear masks leading to a spike in cases.