Around 20% city residents have been quarantined by the Greater Chennai Corporation since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner G. Prakash said the number of persons brought under quarantine in the city crossed the 17 lakh-mark on Friday. “This is an outcome of teamwork and the massive field operations undertaken by our focus volunteers,” said Mr. Prakash.
More than 3,300 focus volunteers have been helping those under quarantine.
The Corporation has quarantined 17.3 lakh residents, monitoring them using HQIMS (Home Quarantine and Isolation Monitoring System) during the pandemic. The city has 87 lakh residents in its 15 zones, covering 426 sq km.
Civic officials in various zones of the city said the HQIMS app played a key role in reducing the number of COVID-19 cases in many of its 200 wards, primarily because of the humanitarian services rendered by focus volunteers.
The volunteers were monitored from the Ripon Buildings by senior officials, and they registered 99% attendance during the pandemic.
Greater Chennai Corporation Deputy Commissioner (Revenue and Finance) Meghanatha Reddy said the HQIMS app and the focus volunteers reduced the incentive of quarantined persons to step out of their homes. “The volunteers deliver everything to the people in quarantine. We also monitor the volunteers from the Ripon Buildings using the real-time data-driven app. This effectively curtailed the spread of COVID-19 in several areas. The volunteers have also become a part of the extended family of the residents who received assistance during their quarantine,” said Mr. Reddy.
The Corporation identified 3.9 lakh quarantined residents, following reports of cases in their households.
Over 2 lakh residents who reached the city from other districts, States and countries were also brought under quarantine.
As many as 13.6 lakh residents have been released from quarantine. Currently, the city has been registering a decline in cases in many wards in north Chennai. But zones such as Ambattur, Anna Nagar, Kodambakkam, Valasaravakkam and Adyar have reported a rise in cases in some of their wards.
The Corporation brought down the number of containment zones to 13 on Friday.
The city has 11,209 active cases and a case fatality rate of 2.11%.