City positivity rate down to 7pc, doubling period 72.2 days

According to Chennai Corporation data, of the 14,027 people tested on August 8, only 986 tested positive, which is only 7 per cent of the test positivity rate. Also, the civic body had tested 12,206 samples and identified 984 positive cases on August 7, for which the positivity rate was 8.1 per cent. For the third consecutive day on Sunday, only 989 positive cases were reported in the city.

While addressing the press, G Prakash, Chennai Corporation Commissioner, said that the civic body is working to reduce the test positivity rate to 6 or 6.5 per cent before the end of this month. “From now on, there will be no steep fall in the test positivity rate. The rate will go down slowly and steadily. If we achieve a 5 per cent test positivity rate, that will be a milestone. Chennai has tested 8 lakh samples and we are reaching more than 14,000 tests per day,” he said. The help desk set up by the civic body rescued more than 650 people with severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) and admitted them to hospitals. “We have been rescuing at least 15 to 25 SARI cases every day since the help desk formed. This will reduce the mortality rate,” Prakash added.

The city has also reached a doubling period of 72.2 days whereas north Chennai zones have reached more than 100-day doubling period. Prakash pointed out that the civic body is concentrating on Ambattur, Anna Nagar, Kodambakkam and Valasaravakkam zones as those areas have reported a higher positivity rate than others.

“Also, we have relaxed e-pass norms and added two more categories. Along with marriage, death and medical emergency, passes will be issued for people making business trips and return of guest workers,” he said.