Panic grips staff of Chennai company after 40 of them test positive for COVID-19

CHENNAI: Panic has gripped employees of a medical transcription company in the city after 40 of them tested positive for COVID-19.

Two staff members initially tested positive, following which the city corporation carried out tests on other employees and identified 33 cases in one branch and seven in another.

"The company has two branches in Kandanchavadi and Taramani. After 33 people tested positive in Kandanchavadi, we tested employees in their second branch, where seven persons tested positive. We have closed down both the offices," said an official from the city corporation.

All the employees in the office are now being tested. According to officials, most of the staff who tested positive are asymptomatic.

With new cases on the rise in the city, the incident has set off alarm bells among officials who warned that the public must once again get back to wearing masks and maintaining social distancing.

"The public must have the same amount of seriousness as they had when the first cluster was formed in the city. Mask observation in the city has come down drastically and social distancing has gone for a complete toss. The public must be wary to avoid the upward trend of cases," said the official.

Previously too, a survey by the National Institute of Epidemiology and Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) showed that only one-third of the population living in corporation limits wore masks properly, i.e., covering nose and mouth. The survey was conducted between October 16 and 19, covering 60 streets (30 each in slum and non-slum areas) on a random basis.

A zone wise comparison indicated that lack of proper mask wearing is higher in both the slum and non-slum areas of North and Central Chennai zones. Corporation officials said they will start zeroing down on more such clusters and stringently check mask observation again.