Southern TN bucks declining trend

Southern TN bucks declining trend

Exodus From Cities, Nod For Travel On Lockdown Eve Possible Reasons

Team TOI

Madurai:29.05.2021 

As Covid-19 cases seem to be declining in many parts of the state, no such trend has been visible in the southern region, especially in Madurai, Kanyakumari and Virudhunagar. These districts have been adding more than 1,000 cases a day over the last few days with Madurai recording high numbers since May 7.

Health experts and administrators cite the opening of public transport before the imposition of lockdown on May 10 and the two-day window given for travel last weekend as possible reasons for the continuing spike. Many who returned to their hometowns from workplaces in Chennai and Coimbatore seem to have brought the infection along. Virudhunagar district collector R Kannan attributed travel from other parts of the state to the district in large numbers before the lockdown as reason for the spread in recent days.

If the ten southern districts accounted for 2.2 lakh since the beginning of the pandemic in March last year to the eve of lockdown on May 10, the region has added more than1.2 lakh cases in the last19 days along. On Friday, the southern districts had 66,028 active cases.

Former director of public health Dr K Kolandasamy said Madurai being the healthcare hub, the hospitals have been overflowing with patients and attenders. "The infection is clearly getting pooled in the hospitals. If this is not controlled by regulating the crowds, Madurai will be as bad as Coimbatore is now, in a month’s time," he warned. Crowd management remains an uphill task for hospitals. Sources at Government Rajaji Hospital said many patients come for delayed treatment while patients from another district are accompanied by not less than three to four people, who are potential spreaders of the disease.

AIADMK MLA and former minister R B Udhayakumar said many deaths were occurring in the villages and it was not known whether they were Covid or non-Covid deaths, as these people had not come for medication earlier. "Funerals in villages are also no small affairs, and crowds there also need strict monitoring,’’ said A Asokan of Makkal Sakthi Iyakkam. Dr Kolandasamy agrees that funerals, bangle ceremonies for pregnant women and marriages have to be strictly monitored.

In Virudhunagar district, poor contact tracing is seen as a reason for the spread this time. The district is running short of oxygen and ICU beds, thereby relying on Madurai for emergency and critical care. Kanyakumari district’s high caseload – it added 19,751 cases since May11 – is attributed to its close proximity to Kerala and high population density. The torrential rain almost every day for more than two weeks is another factor being cited. The district also lacks monitoring in the coastal areas as people across age groups can be seen playing or chatting in closed areas.

Hundreds of fishermen and traders also throng harbours such as Colachel for the fish auction where social distancing is thrown to the wind and one can hardly find hand sanitizers.