Covid cases, deaths drop; tally crosses 37,000-mark

COIMBATORE: In a relief for health officials as well as the general public in the district, the number of fresh Covid-19 cases continued to drop and remain less than 400 for the third consecutive day.
The district recorded 389 new cases on Sunday, the lowest single-day count in the month so far, even as the tally zoomed past the 37,000-mark to 37,117, the third highest in the state.
The daily count was at the current level way back in August, when the cases started raising steadily and crossed the 600-mark in September, before they started falling to 500. In the first week of October, the cases were slightly above 400. There was a slow but steady fall in the numbers on the subsequent days, giving hope that the virus spread would subside further in the coming weeks.
A health officer said, “It’s a positive sign. We hope the trend continues.”
The number of active Covid-19 cases stood at 4,917 on the day, as 390 patients were discharged from treatment facilities.
The Covid-19 fatalities have also come down compared to the first week of the month. On October 1, the district had reported eight deaths. The number came down to five the next day and kept fluctuating in the following days. But for the past three days, the district has been recording four deaths, which again is seen as a positive sign. At 491, the district has the fourth highest Covid-19 toll in the state.
City corporation commissioner P Kumaravel Pandian said they would continue to conduct fever camps across the city to bring the cases further down. He has instructed the health staff to hold follow-up fever camps in all the places after a gap of a week.
He said Covid-19 testing would be conducted for the inmates of central prison in the city and suggested the jail authorities to quarantine new prisoners for 14 days, before letting them mingle with other inmates.