Covid spike triggers lockdown fear among TN people

CHENNAI: Amid a sudden spike in Covid cases everyday in Tamil Nadu and other parts of India, people from several parts of the State fear that there would be a lockdown to control the spread the infection.

However, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said that public need not worry and no new restrictions or lockdown will be imposed as hospitalisation is only at 5 per cent. While addressing the media, he said, “Unlike the Delta, and Delta plus variants, the XBB variant has mild impact among the people. Though the number of fresh cases increased to 198 on Tuesday, there is no hospitalisation requirement in the healthcare centers."

He further said that there was no cluster, but only individual cases with mild symptoms tested positive.

Meanwhile, the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine (DPH) advised that face masks are mandatory, including healthcare facilites and public places, in the State.

The State on Wednesday recorded 198 new cases with active count touching 1,086.

A total of 4,435 fresh Covid-19 infections were reported across the country in the last 24 hours, a significant jump from Tuesday's tally of 3038 cases, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday. It is the highest single-day rise in the last nearly six months, the Ministry said.