Severity of Covid infection has gone up, says collector

Coimbatore: District collector K Rajamani on Saturday said the severity of Covid-19 infection has increased in the district now, compared to the earlier phases, and urged people not to take safety precautions lightly.
“The severity of Covid-19 has increased. Three of the 29 patients are under ventilation. People are not taking safety measures seriously. From Monday, people venturing out of houses should compulsorily wear a face mask. Otherwise, they would be fined Rs100,” he said.
He said the city corporation had already collected Rs4 lakh as fine from people for not wearing face masks. “Social distancing should also be maintained at all the places. Otherwise, stringent action would be taken.”
The collector said the public health department has screened the passengers of 54 flights, which landed in the city from April 25, for Covid-19. “Forty-three passengers were tested positive and 29 of them were admitted to the ESI Hospital. The remaining patients were sent to their home districts, where they are undergoing treatment.”
Rajamani said special teams have been deployed across the district to monitor people returning from Chennai and other states. “Revenue divisional officer, tahsildar, corporation assistant commissioner and police would monitor such returnees in the city limits, while teams comprising town panchayat executive officers and block development officers will watch them in other parts of the districts.”
The collector also urged the returnees from other parts of the country to approach the health department if they developed any flu-like symptoms. “People in quarantine should not roam on the streets. If they fail to follow the norms, they will be booked under the epidemic act.”
He said 20,041 samples were collected from the district for Covid-19 test so far. “We have collected 986 samples in the past two days alone.”