Tamil Nadu at ‘critical phase’ 200 days into Covid-19 fight – Times of India

CHENNAI: On Tuesday, 200 days since the first case was reported, Tamil Nadu registered 5,337 fresh cases of Covid-19 and 76 deaths. Active cases were 46,350 while the case tally was more than 5.5 lakh. The cumulative death toll neared 9,000.
In September, the state added 1,24,749 new cases, averaging 5,600 daily. The recovery rate in the state is near 90% and the case fatality rate is 1.6%. The number of people cured is 3,000 short of 5 lakh.
“We are at a critical phase. The number of new cases and daily deaths are coming down, but we will not be able to drop our guard,” said health secretary J Radhakrishnan. “In the last six months, we have worked tirelessly to increase infrastructure in state-run hospitals. We now have more oxygen beds, ventilators, cleaner hospitals and efficient treatment protocol and a stringent sanitation procedure. Our doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers have been resourceful. Many who were infected have returned to work,” he said.
After clusters of cases among the Tablighi Jamaat group and in the Koyambedu market, the state quickly ramped up testing and screening facilities. “Those infected were isolated and treated,” said health minister C Vijayabaskar. The state has tested 64,36,700 people so far. “We are the only state to stick to RT-PCR tests. The 66 government labs in the state offered tests free of cost,” he said. For nearly a month, post-Covid clinics have been monitoring complications, he said.
Health authorities in Chennai managed to keep fresh cases just short of 1,000 on Tuesday too at 989. Chengalpet reported 231 cases, Kancheepuram 209 and Tiruvallur 23. There were 19 deaths in Chennai. The other seven northern districts reported 763 cases and 10 deaths. Together, the 11 districts in the north remained the epicentre reporting 45% of fresh cases and 46% of deaths.
The eight western districts together reported 1,767 cases. Fresh cases in the south zone (545) were less compared to eight districts in the central zone (602), although the southern districts together reported 11 deaths compared to six in the central zone. The west reported 24 deaths including 11 in Salem and four each in Coimbatore and Erode.
All 10 districts in the south continued to report a two-digit increase. Tirunelveli reported 91, Kanyakumari had 77 and Madurai had 61. The lowest was in Ramanathapuram (8).
Among the central districts, Thanjavur (155) and Tiruvarur (116) nd Trichy (113) had a three-digit increase.