Covid cases on the rise in Tamil Nadu; government focuses on vaccination

With daily Covid-19 cases on the rise for the past few days, the Tamil Nadu government is focusing on preventing further spread by going for saturation tests among close contacts of those who test positive and ensuring that eligible people get their first and second doses of vaccine.

The daily cases, which were under 100 for the past two months, have been on the upward trend since the second week of June, though government officials and experts say there is no need to panic. Chennai, its neighbouring districts of Chengalpattu, Tiruvallur, and Kanchipuram, and Coimbatore are some of the areas which have been reporting an increase in the daily cases.

Though over 20 districts continue to report nil cases and there are no Covid deaths for the past three months, except one girl last week, the government has asked district collectors to do “complete contact tracing and saturation testing of contacts of positive cases to prevent further spread.”

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Chennai continues to top the list with 306 cases being reported on June 19 while the state tally is 692. Chengalpattu is next with 122 cases, followed by Tiruvallur (48), and Coimbatore (22).

As majority of the positive cases are “mild and moderate” prompting the patients to opt for home isolation, Health Secretary P Senthil Kumar has asked district administrations to distribute a pamphlet detailing the do’s and don’ts of Covid-19.

The government has also advised the district administrations to distribute a tablet pack containing paracetamol, Vitamin-C and Zinc tablets to positive patients and periodically monitor them with pulse oximeters. It has also advised that serious cases and high-risk individuals be treated at district government hospitals where 50 to 100 beds have been earmarked for Covid-19 patients.

The government, a senior official told DH, is also focusing on vaccination since 40 lakh people and over 1 crore people are yet to take their first and second doses respectively. He said the Health Secretary has asked authorities to increase the daily vaccination numbers by convincing people to get their jabs.

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Public health expert Dr K Kolandasamy told DH that Primary Health Centres in the state should be equipped with facilities to test C-Reactive Protein (CPR), Random Blood Sugar, Blood TC, and DC on Covid-19 patients thrice at a three-day interval as continuous monitoring will help.

“There is nothing to panic as the fourth wave will be lesser than the third wave. This is how a pandemic becomes endemic. We will have to continue with practices like washing our hands, maintaining social distancing and wearing masks. Government should encourage public open space activities while restricting activities inside closed and contained spaces,” Dr Kolandasamy said.

Kolandasamy, who was Director of Public Health (DPH) with Tamil Nadu government, also stressed the need to vaccinate the unvaccinated.

Tamil Nadu has so far reported 34 lakh Covid-19 cases with 38,026 deaths since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020.