COVID-19 containment zones in Chennai surge to 70 as city records 1288 fresh cases

CHENNAI: The number of COVID-19 containment zones in Chennai has risen from 42 on Tuesday to 70 on Friday, as around 1,300 people are testing positive for the virus every day.

According to data released by the city corporation, Ambattur corporation zone has the highest number of containment areas at 29, followed by 11 in Tondiarpet zone.

Twelve out of 15 zones in the city now feature in the containment zones list.

Corporation officials say that this sudden rise indicates a rise in clusters and hotspots. “It is hard to contact trace any more as the city has opened for economic activities. Any street with fixed index
cases is cordoned off,” an official with the civic body’s health department said.

The city did not have any hotspots or clusters in August and September, and cases too came down gradually, even after lockdown restrictions were relaxed. Now, Ambattur zone is gradually emerging as a hotspot.

On Friday, the city recorded 1288 fresh COVID-19 cases while 1128 people were discharged. Out of the 1,79,424 total cases, the city now has 13,446 active cases and 3373 deaths.