Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan told IANS that focus has shifted towards the western region including Coimbatore, Tirupur and Erode. 

However, the senior bureaucrat said: "The drop in numbers in the northern region, including Chennai, is preliminary and we cannot guarantee that it's a permanent reduction. 

"We have in fact shifted our focus towards western Tamil Nadu including Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Erode as the cases are spiralling in these areas." 

He said, "We have advised the Coimbatore district administration to take containment measures which we took in Chennai and got results." 

The Coimbatore district has been recording a steep increase in the number of cases ever since May 1. 

On May 1, the fresh cases were 1,257 while on May 25 it was 3,632. The active case count in the same period has jumped five times from 7,288 on May 1 to 34,253 on May 25. 

In Coimbatore district alone, around 21,000 patients are kept under home quarantine. 

Steps have been taken to reduce the number of active cases by creating more Covid care centres with oxygen concentrators and establishing zero delay wards among others. 

Experts have opined that to overcome the shortage of beds with oxygen facility, more Covid care centres with oxygen concentrators have to established. 

The Coimbatore district has around 13,000 beds in government and private facilities and Covid care centres. 

A Covid care centre is to be established at Coimbatore Government Arts College and it will be have 200 oxygen bedded facility. This centre, according to Coimbatore district administration sources, will be used as a step down centre for patients whose oxygen saturation has improved after getting treatment at Coimbatore Government Medical College Hospital.