The Nilgiris has recorded only 14 COVID-19 cases so far, with 12 of them having completely recovered. The quick action of the district administration in closing the district’s borders to inter-State travellers when the first case was being reported in the State, as well as a strict monitoring policy of drivers delivering goods to places outside the district ensured that the number of cases remained low.
The district administration had announced that the district would be closed to tourists on March 17 itself, with tourist attractions being shut down with immediate effect.
The Nilgiris District Collector, J.Innocent Divya, said there were only two active COVID-19 cases in the district, with one being a driver who went to the Koyambedu Market in Chennai, and another woman a primary contact of one of the four drivers who also visited the same market and tested positive.
The district administration also began testing drivers of goods vehicles delivering vegetables and supplies to other districts, including the 43 drivers who visited the market in Chennai.
At present, there was only one containment zone in the district in Kil Kolikarai. Standard protocols that were in place across the State stipulating home quarantine for people returning from other districts and institutional quarantine for those returning from other states and hotspots would be followed, officials said.