Tamil Nadu to tighten Covid vigil as fresh cases almost double in a fortnight

CHENNAI: Chief Secretary Rajeev Ranjan directed all District Collectors to tighten vigil on implementation of Covid standard operating procedures even as Tamil Nadu continued its upward curve on Tuesday, reporting 867 fresh cases and five deaths.

Chennai alone accounted for 352 of the total cases.

The direction was issued during a review meeting Ranjan held with the Collectors, officials of the revenue and health departments, Greater Chennai Corporation, and others at the Secretariat on Tuesday.

He also instructed officials to impose fines on people who violate the guidelines.

The State tally stood at 8,61,429 and toll at 12,556. There are currently 5,450 active cases in TN, said the health bulletin.

People not wearing masks and not following SOP issued by the government were the reasons behind the spike in cases, said Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan.

Also, people in home quarantine are not following protocols and passing on the infection to others, a release said.

Collectors directed to curb Covid-19 spread

An official release stated that new cases were being reported from banks, financial and educational institutions which did not follow the SOPs.

In a scenario where the cases are on a rise in States like Mahararashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Gujarat, New Delhi and Punjab, the release said that the test positivity rate in Tamil Nadu was brought down because of effective measures.

In the first two months of 2021, the test positivity in the State was down to one per cent, and daily fresh cases were below the 500-mark.

However, in the last 10 days, the positivity rate has increased to 1.2 per cent, said the release. Similarly, the rate has increased to two per cent in places like Chennai and Coimbatore.

The Chief Secretary ordered the Collectors and Chennai Corporation Commissioner to ensure that the spread of the infection is curtailed, so as to ensure a smooth conduct of election-related works in the State.

Proper sanitation should be done in offices, companies, industries, and at public water taps and toilets.

Number of fever camps should be increased, and steps should be taken to ensure eligible individuals receive Covid vaccine, the release added.

Meanwhile, observing that the number of cases is rising rapidly, the Madras High Court said that it was upto the railway authorities to seek advice on resuming normal services and that the court did not have the requisite expertise in such matters.

The court was hearing a plea seeking to direct the Southern Railway to resume regular operations of short passenger services and suburban trains.

The first bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, took note of the rising number of Covid cases across the country.

“Even physical court hearings have been deferred, except for urgent matters,” the court emphasised.

‘Can’t order resumption of normal rly services’

Observing that the number of cases is rising rapidly, the Madras HC, hearing a plea, said that it was up to railway authorities to seek advice on resuming normal services.