Officials in districts, where there has been a rise in fresh coronavirus infections, have been instructed to immediately identify the cause for the increase, look for areas where they have surfaced, monitor contacts of patients with COVID-19 and bring those testing positive to hospitals, Health Minister Ma. Subramanian said on Friday.
“From 1,756 cases on Wednesday, there was a sudden rise to 1,859 on Thursday. This rise is a cause for worry because cases were continuously on a decline for over a month in the State, and had increased for the first time on Thursday,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the World Hepatitis Day programme at the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (IOG) and Government Hospital for Women and Children. He said necessary instructions had been given to the Collectors and health officers in districts where cases had increased. “The cases have increased slightly in districts such as Chennai, Coimbatore, Erode, Cuddalore and Kanniyakumari,” he said.
He added that officials were advised to bring patients who have tested positive to hospitals rather than placing them under home isolation. “It is said that the cases were high in Kerala as many patients were managed in home isolation,” he added. He said they were confident of bringing the cases under control.
Border surveillance
He added that the surveillance at inter-State borders was a continuous process. “We conduct checks along areas bordering Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The temperature of persons is screened on entry at the borders,” he said.
Insisting that the public should follow masking, frequent handwashing, maintain physical distancing and avoid crowding, he said the level of compliance was still not good enough. Though there was a certain percentage of compliance in Chennai, the public in a majority of other districts did not wear masks properly and were careless.
“The Chief Minister will be launching an awareness initiative on Saturday. The campaign will be conducted in all 38 districts for a week,” Mr. Subramanian said.
At IOG, screening of all pregnant women for hepatitis B as well as vaccination of healthcare workers was conducted, K. Vijaya, director of the hospital, said.
Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister P.K. Sekar Babu and Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan were present.
