With the temple city’s Covid numbers galloping and the positive cases in Madurai district crossing 4,000, concerns are high. Madurai followed Chennai’s example and decided to extend its lockdown in the hope of checking the rapid Covid-19 spread. The district has intensified screening and testing amid new fears of shortage of beds in hospitals. Officials, however, assure that the situation is under control -- for now.
A 59-year-old patient, admitted to the SARI (severe acute respiratory illness) ward at the Madurai GRH after his swab test was done, returned home in a state of panic. “There is heavy congestion with 30 patients waiting for six beds,’’ said his son. Until the beginning of June, the district had been patting itself for keeping the virus under a tight leash. With the district borders opening up for the return of the natives, the numbers began to spike with the average cases per day ranging between 200 to 300 from 50.
While officials were quick to contain the Paravai market cluster to 40 positive cases among traders, they slipped up at the district borders. Madurai collector Dr T G Vinay admitted that there was continuous inter-district movement of public transport and people coming to the city to seek medical care.
“With surveillance at the entry points slackening and the number of people arriving in Madurai from outside the district, state and country crossing the 10,000 mark through May and June, Covid positive cases soared,” said a district officer, seeking anonymity. “People were entering the city without being screened and contact tracing was delayed. The primary patients were spreading the disease rapidly,” said the officer.
Now, a lot is happening on the field, said monitoring officer for Covid-19 in Madurai Dr B Chandramohan. “We are testing people through mobile camps, fever diagnosis is being done at the panchayat level and house-to-house fever surveillance has been initiated. Intense awareness is being created and people are being identified and brought for testing within 24 hours of experiencing the symptoms,” he said.
Like Madurai, Ramanathapuram too has seen a rise with 1,051 cases and 16 deaths within just the last ten days. While a lockdown helped curtail the virus spread, Ramnad residents returning from other districts, besides Madurai and Chennai, has resulted in the Covid explosion.
(With inputs from Sukshma R)
A 59-year-old patient, admitted to the SARI (severe acute respiratory illness) ward at the Madurai GRH after his swab test was done, returned home in a state of panic. “There is heavy congestion with 30 patients waiting for six beds,’’ said his son. Until the beginning of June, the district had been patting itself for keeping the virus under a tight leash. With the district borders opening up for the return of the natives, the numbers began to spike with the average cases per day ranging between 200 to 300 from 50.
While officials were quick to contain the Paravai market cluster to 40 positive cases among traders, they slipped up at the district borders. Madurai collector Dr T G Vinay admitted that there was continuous inter-district movement of public transport and people coming to the city to seek medical care.
“With surveillance at the entry points slackening and the number of people arriving in Madurai from outside the district, state and country crossing the 10,000 mark through May and June, Covid positive cases soared,” said a district officer, seeking anonymity. “People were entering the city without being screened and contact tracing was delayed. The primary patients were spreading the disease rapidly,” said the officer.
Now, a lot is happening on the field, said monitoring officer for Covid-19 in Madurai Dr B Chandramohan. “We are testing people through mobile camps, fever diagnosis is being done at the panchayat level and house-to-house fever surveillance has been initiated. Intense awareness is being created and people are being identified and brought for testing within 24 hours of experiencing the symptoms,” he said.
Like Madurai, Ramanathapuram too has seen a rise with 1,051 cases and 16 deaths within just the last ten days. While a lockdown helped curtail the virus spread, Ramnad residents returning from other districts, besides Madurai and Chennai, has resulted in the Covid explosion.
(With inputs from Sukshma R)
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