Fresh COVID-19 infections continued to fluctuate in a number of districts across the State, as 1,956 more people tested positive on Sunday, taking the tally to 25,75,308.
Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan told Collectors that Erode, Chennai, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli and Tiruchi, among other districts, continued to show mild to moderate increase in cases, when compared with the previous day. Nineteen districts, including those mentioned, have reported a higher daily average for the week, when compared with the last week, which is a cause for concern, he said.
Four districts reported over 100 cases each on Sunday. Coimbatore’s daily tally rose to 241, from 223 the previous day. Cases marginally fell to 187, from 194, in Chennai. Erode, too, saw a small dip to 185 from 198 cases. In Chengalpattu, 105 people tested positive, as against 115 on Saturday. While 97 people tested positive in Thanjavur, there were 91 cases in Tiruvallur, 89 in Salem and 80 in Tiruppur.
With 1,807 more people getting discharged after treatment, the total figure touched 25,20,584. The State’s active caseload stood at 20,407. Twenty-eight persons succumbed to the infection, taking the toll to 34,317.
Of the 38 districts, there were no deaths in 19. There were four deaths each in Salem and Tiruppur, which included deferred reconciled death reports. Coimbatore recorded three deaths, while Chennai saw one.
In the 24-hour period, 1,60,229 samples were tested, taking the total figure to 3,86,97,187.
The Health Secretary told districts reporting a reduction in cases to aim at bringing the count to zero, without compromising on the number of RT-PCR tests. Border districts should focus on 100% vaccination of those travelling daily to Kerala, Andhra Pradesh or Karnataka for work, he said. Collectors should ask the Health Department and local bodies to focus on vaccinating the elderly who have been left out, parents of schoolchildren and teachers, aiming to achieve 100% inoculation by issuing an appeal, he said.
Noting that there should be a drive for the administration of the second dose, he said less than 40% frontline workers had been covered. Local bodies, the police and the Revenue Department should be asked to obtain lists in their jurisdictions and organise drives to provide the second dose for such categories, he said.
He urged Collectors to encourage focused vaccination in markets and crowded areas, and lift random samples for testing from such areas. He said some buses and restaurants continued to flout standard operating procedures, adding that monitoring the number of people attending functions also was must. “Of late, vaccination numbers achieved have been below capacity, despite availability,” he said.
He also raised the need for measures to control mosquito breeding, as there were cases of dengue and chikungunya. Zika, though reported in Kerala and Maharashtra, can easily spread from neighbouring Kerala if border surveillance is lax. All districts are aware of standard hotspots based on past data, he said, adding that local bodies should be sensitised.
A total of 1,12,649 people, including 64,936 aged 18 to 44 and 33,774 aged 45 to 59, were inoculated on Sunday. This took the total coverage in government vaccination centres to 2,32,30,231. The coverage in private centres since May 1 stood at 17,16,562.
