Chennai’s Covid positivity rate double of Tamil Nadu’s, active cases in capital over 25000 – Times Now

Chennai: The Covid-19 positivity rate in the capital city is 18 per cent which is almost double that of the state which is 9.7 per cent. The city, as of April 18, had over 25,000 active coronavirus cases. A city-based Covid data analyst, while speaking about the coronavirus situation in the city o the media, said that the doubling rate in the city is about eight days currently. 

He said that if the current trend persists and continues, the city would have about 50,000 active cases in a week’s time. Meanwhile, he said that the doubling rate for Tamil Nadu as a whole is nine days and if the trend continues, the state would have one lakh cases in six days.

Experts said that the coming weeks could see the hospitals and the Covid care centres being overwhelmed even when about 80 per cent of people continue to remain in home isolation right now. Reports suggest that currently, the Greater Chennai Corporation has more than 1,500 people in Covid care centres. 

An Infectious diseases expert blamed the state for not upgrading the process and for using the same protocol that was used in March 2020. He said that quick decisions are to be made now and that even if one person tests positive now, almost all of his contacts are testing positive. 

Dr P Ganesh Kumar, assistant director at the National Institute of Epidemiology told the Times of India that there is a constant need to monitor the oxygen and bed occupancy now amid the surge in the number of coronavirus cases. 

Reports further suggest that the civic body has 12,600 beds in Covid care centres and that preparations are on to scale up the number to 20,000.