Spread of COVID-19 higher in 3 Tamil Nadu districts, says Chief Secretary

COIMBATORE: Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu K Shanmugam on Sunday said that Chennai, Salem, and Coimbatore districts have a Covid-19 test positivity rate of over five per cent when compared to other districts whose positive has dropped below three per cent in recent days.

Addressing reporters after a review meeting with government officials at the collectorate, Shanmugam said that the intensity of the infection’s spread is yet to decline in Tamil Nadu. “Currently, Coimbatore stands next to Chennai in the infection’s spread. So, steps will be taken to increase the number of samples tested in the district.

As of now, a total of 4,000 samples are being collected from across Coimbatore every day and the number shall be further increased to 5,000 to break the chain efficiently,” he said. On recent sero-surveys conducted to find people’s exposure to Coronavirus, he said that only 30 per cent of participants were found to have antibodies to the virus.

“The infection’s transmission would slow down if 50-60 per cent of people had antibodies. However, it is below 30 per cent now,” he noted, adding that similar surveys would be conducted at regular intervals.
Crucial time to combat virus Calling the festive season a crucial time to combat the virus, Shanmugam said that the government would decide about further relaxing the lockdown norms if the rate of infection comes under control after Deepavali.

The chief secretary further noted that there has been a sizeable increase in the number of Covid-19 survivors suffering from lung complications. “Patients with lung complications need time for complete recovery. Taking this into account, we have established post-Covid-19 treatment centers across the State,” he informed. Collector K Rajamani, City Municipal Corporation Commissioner P Kumaravel Pandian, and City Police Commissioner Sumit Sharan also attended the review meeting.