Koyambedu cluster leaves districts in a fix

VELLORE/TIRUVANNAMALAI: By utilising available resources and health infrastructure judiciously, districts in the Northern Arcot region were managing to keep the COVID-19 at bay largely, until the Koyambedu cluster exploded. Tiruvannamalai for instance, has 35 cases linked to the Chennai market and 24 cases linked to other places in the capital city.  

The rate at which the infection is spreading in these districts, has caught frontline workers off guard. They are spending sleepless nights to detect people landing in the district from Chennai, particularly from Koyambedu. “We have stepped up vigil at the district border where people from outside, including Chennai, are being stopped, quarantined and tested before allowing them to reach home,” a senior officer said.  

“Yet, the grave concern is that there are many silent carriers who show no symptoms but aid transmission.” A Health Department officer noted that the health workers are grasping for breath as the cases continue to surge and numbers in the facilitation quarantine centres keep spiralling. The influx of the ‘super spreaders’ from Koyambedu has not only hit Tiruvannamalai but also began to put its stamp in other districts including Vellore, Ranipet and Tirupathur. Arakkonam, the gateway to Chennai, falling under Ranipet district, was the first town to report Koyambedu linked cases. Ranipet district has reported 16 cases positive cases with direct link to Koyambedu or their contacts.

Vellore district has registered seven cases, six of them directly related to Koyambedu cluster and one had contracted the virus after travelling on a vegetable truck returning from the market. Tirupathur district authorities fought hard to contain the spread of corona virus within the areas where Tablighi Jamaat attendees tested positive, but the ‘super spreaders’ spoiled their good work. The district has reported 10 positive cases, out of a total of 28, attributed to Koyambedu cluster so far.

With the current trend expected to continue in the days to come, the authorities are vary of how they can effectively encounter the growing threat. Given the limited number of beds in the corona isolation treatment wards in government medical colleges in Tiruvannamalai and Vellore, the district level corona warriors are hard pressed to devise improvised strategies to manage the situation and save the people from infected with the pandemic.