Covid cases rise in Chennai, suburbs: Health Secy writes to Collectors

CHENNAI: Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan has written a letter to the district Collectors and Commissioner of Greater Chennai Corporation again amid the rising of Covid cases in Chennai and Chengalpattu. "These districts need introspection and attention,” he said. In addition, the State Health Department planned to organise special mega vaccination camp on June 12 in Tamil Nadu.

The daily cases which had hit a low of 22 per day on April 15, is now nearing 100 and likely to go up in the coming days.

"Those with symptoms and fever to be checked at entry point of work places, institutions, and isolated before others get exposed to the individual. We need to keep giving a push to vaccination and ensure masks work in public places, especially crowded areas or where people get exposed to each other without possibility of social distance," said Radhakrishnan.

At hospitals, make sure that people wear face mask as even one unprotected exposure can risk others as now there is a tendency to think that Covid is gone. Also, keep checking the overall medical preparedness, he urged.

The official added ensure that those eligible for vaccination whether first, second or booster, take is on time so that at the community level immunity does not drop. If someone has symptoms, instead of ignoring in the first few days and putting others at risk of contracting Covid. People should get themselves freely tested in the nearest government families and self isolate till results come.

"If the results turned positive, based on the doctor's advice get treated and either quarantine at home or in institutional isolation facility and or in medical facility depending on the actual condition," said the official.

Detection of positives has to be linked to test positivity and any test positivity above 5 per cent or hospital occupancy above 40 per cent of the beds of various categories should be cause of concerns subject to guidance being received from time to time from the experts.

“As of now, in Tamil Nadu no district falls in this category and our efforts should be suppress the virus and not allow it to fester at lower levels,” he wrote.

"While currently, there is no cause of panic and no knee jerk closure of any activity is to be done. We need to communicate the message to the community at large to be extra careful of those who have comorbid condition or elderly. Also, focus on symptomatic individuals and contacts and symptomatic persons in all settings," Radhakrishnan further added.

Recent bump noticed in the cases in Chennai Corporation and Chengalpattu district is also an indirect pointer to the likely reduction in the levels of immunity in the community. Also to an extent to the immune escape potential in the omicron sub-variant and lineages in circulation, he noted.

Hence, there is an urgent need to revisit the understanding of the localised concepts such learnings to live with Covid among the people in your districts. And not allow the recent trend among them of forgetting or ignoring Covid as totally gone, advised health secretary to the concerned officials, he said.

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