Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan on Sunday cautioned against laxity among people and officials in taking measures to control the spread of COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu.
Addressing the media after inspecting the allocation of more than 300 additional beds for COVID-19 at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, he acknowledged that there was some laxity among a section of officials and stressed the need not to squander the gains achieved earlier from effective control and monitoring measures.
Strict implementation
Highlighting that only nine districts in Tamil Nadu had a test positivity rate higher than 2% and only five of them had more than 3% at the moment, Mr. Radhakrishnan said the officials had been asked to strictly implement the “test, track and treat” strategy. “For every person testing positive, we are asking field workers to test at least 30 of their contacts,” he said.
Pointing out that more cases were reported in clusters in apartments during the second surge happening now, he said the ITIHAS software, developed by IIT Madras, was being used to identify potential hotspots. He urged people to always wear masks and maintain physical distancing wherever possible.
He reiterated that those who could work from home must opt for that. He appealed to all those who were eligible to get vaccinated at the earliest.
Decision on lockdown
To a question on lockdown, Mr. Radhakrishnan said the government would not take any sudden decision that would cause panic among the public. He said the situation was different now with the availability of adequate health infrastructure and vaccines. The overall situation and the spread of the disease were monitored daily by the core committee formed by the Chief Secretary.
Highlighting that the country was now in the ‘Unlock 6’ phase, Mr. Radhakrishnan said the benefits and restrictions in the ‘Unlock 4’ and ‘Unlock 5’ phases were being looked into.
