The number of residents testing positive for COVID-19 every day has reduced from 2,393 in June to 1,095 in August in the city because of micro-level planning, said Fisheries and Administrative Reforms Minister D. Jayakumar.
Speaking to reporters following a review meeting held by Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani on Monday, Mr. Jayakumar said the number of cases increased from five in March to 2,393 in June and has started declining in the past three weeks.
Team effort
“The decline in cases has been achieved by team effort. We have focused on all neighbourhoods, deploying 39,000 workers for containment measures,” the Minister said.
Mr. Jayakumar said 13 frontline workers lost their lives in the line of duty. “The government will provide compensation to all workers who died of COVID-19.”
Mr. Jayakumar said over 10% of the residents in the city had been tested for COVID-19. “Over 7.5 lakh residents have been tested,” he said.
Mr. Velumani said the number of streets with active cases had reduced and the strategy adopted would be followed in other parts of the State. “A total of 5,549 streets have active cases. Of the 39,537 streets in Chennai, 33,988 streets do not have any cases,” he said.
“A total of 89,604 patients have recovered. The city has 12,190 active cases,” Mr. Velumani said.
Chennai has registered 87,000 tests per million and over 7.5 lakh tests, the highest for any city in the world.
E-pass relaxations
The Minister said the Chief Minister ordered relaxation of norms pertaining to issuance of e-pass on Monday. “We have issued 1.89 lakh e-passes in Chennai. But we have to be vigilant,” Mr. Velumani said.
Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar said the doubling time of cases in Chennai was 65 days.
“In some wards, the doubling time is 100 days. Chennai’s model of containment has to be replicated in other cities. Over 80% beds in COVID-19 Care Centres in the city are vacant and over 40% of hospital beds are vacant,” he said.
A total of 30,000 beds in care centres in the city have been readied. Currently, most positive cases have been reported in zones such as Anna Nagar, Ambattur and Valasaravakkam, while 12 zones have registered a decline in cases.
Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan said the government was planning to start pooled testing to reduce the time taken for release of results. Residents will get test results in 24 hours.
Corporation Commissioner G. Prakash said the civic body would permit labourers to return to Chennai from other parts of the country. “We will issue e-passes for labourers to return. But industries and construction sites should provide facilities for their 14-day isolation,” he said.
“Containment activities will be continued for at least three more months in the city,” Mr. Prakash said.
Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/coronavirus-chennai-registers-a-decline-in-cases/article32263186.ece
