Heightened vigil after surge in Covid cases

Coimbatore: With the district witnessing a sharp spike in fresh Covid-19 cases, health department officials are on their toes.
While 23 Covid cases were recorded on Tuesday, 26 were recorded on Wednesday. They are scattered across the district.
The spike has prompted the officials to increase the number of daily tests. Currently, 700 samples collected from primary contacts and suspected Covid-19 patients are being tested a day, compared to 400 last week.
The officials attributed the sharp rise in positivity rate to Chennai reporting more than 100 fresh cases a day. “Because of this, vigil has been increased in the district against the viral infection. However, cases in Coimbatore are scattered and not in clusters,” said an official. “There is no cause for alarm. But vaccination should be ramped up as there are several people who are yet to receive the second dose.”
Some beneficiaries are reluctant to get the jab thinking that the pandemic has come to an end, said deputy director of health services Dr P Aruna. “People must come forward to get vaccinated as it prevents them from getting infected.”
While 30.02 lakh beneficiaries have received the first dose, 27.44 lakh have got the second dose. Even during the recent mega vaccination camp, only 11,700-odd people were vaccinated.
The health official urged beneficiaries to reach out to the nearest health centre to get vaccinated. He also urged people to follow Covid appropriate behaviour by wearing mask and keeping physical distance.