MADURAI: Fresh Covid-19 cases in Madurai continue to witness an exponential increase with the district recording as many as 1,653 new cases in just five days. However, health officials said that so far no containment zone has been set up as the spread has been sporadic and not concentrated in clusters.
Containment zones had played a key role during the previous waves of Covid-19 when cases shot up, but this time health officials said though there is fast spread within a family there is no rapid spread in a particular locality. “We have not been given any revised guidelines for containment zones. We are supposed to set up containment zones when there are five or more cases in an area. However, rather than area clusters, we are seeing clusters within a family such that when a member tests positive, others also test positive,” said a corporation health official.
Within Madurai city limits alone, 675 Covid-19 cases have been reported in the last five days till Monday. Further, about 3,500 samples are being collected for testing a day under corporation limits and 6,500-7,500 samples in the whole district. “We are testing all those who have Influenza-like Illness (ILI) symptoms, those who come to get tested at any hospitals or primary health centres, symptomatic primary and secondary contacts among others. Around 100-150 fever camps per day are also being held at various areas. We are also doing random testing in crowded areas such as markets,” said a health official.
Meanwhile, compliance to Covid-19 safety norms such as wearing masks and maintaining social distancing continues to be poor across areas despite fines being imposed. “Even if most patients have mild symptoms, public must not underestimate the spread and let their guard down,” added the official.
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