With the prevalence of Covid-19 not just confined to this metropolis now and spreading across the state, Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday imposed a ban on inter-district travel and suspended public transport between districts for six days beginning June 25.
The announcement by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami came as the state reported its biggest single-day spike in Covid-19 numbers on Wednesday with as many as 2,865 persons, including 91 who returned from abroad and other states, testing positive for Coronavirus.
The state’s tally now stands at 67,468, including 37,763 discharges and 866 deaths – 33 of which were recorded on Wednesday. The number of active cases stood at 28,836. Chennai reported 1,654 cases on Wednesday, taking its individual tally to 45,814, including 26,472 discharges and 668 deaths.
In a press release, Palaniswami said inter-district travel and plying of public transport between districts in zones, which were created for the state’s convenience while implementing lockdown 5.0, will be banned for six days from June 25.
Anyone travelling out of a district would need e-pass, while buses will ply within districts outside of Chennai and its neighbouring districts. The CM said the decision was being taken as districts are finding it difficult to trace the contacts of people who come from other areas of the state without the mandatory e-pass.
The tightening of relaxations provided from June 1 came as the number of cases outside Chennai and its neighbouring districts of Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram, and Chengalpattu witnessed a massive spike in the past ten days. Chennai and parts of the three districts are under a 12-day ‘strict’ lockdown since June 19.
A few northern districts like Tiruvannamalai, Vellore, and Ranipet and southern districts like Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Tirunelveli, and Thoothukudi, which had brought the spread of Coronavirus under control, have been reporting hundreds of new patients in the past ten days.
Mass exodus of people from Chennai to their native places across the state is said to be one of the major reasons behind the spike in the numbers.
Data analysed by DH from June 14 to June 23 says as many as 5,333 people have tested positive in the aforementioned period alone in 34 districts excluding Chennai and its three neighbouring districts. Districts like Madurai, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore, and Ranipet have reported doubling their total cases in the aforesaid period alone.
While Madurai added 611 case since June 14, Tiruvannamalai reported 679 fresh cases, Vellore (390), Ranipet (340), Ramanathapuram (254), Dindigul (147), Tiruchirapalli (215), Thoothukudi (273), and Theni (144) during the same period.
While only a few possess e-pass and travel to their native towns and villages, several hundreds have found multiple ways to hoodwink the police and reach their native places. While those travelling with e-pass are quarantined and tested at facilities arranged by district administrations, those who reach their villages and towns without reporting at check-posts pose a bigger problem.
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“These people come to their towns using village roads and do not report their arrival to anyone. Only when we ask them whether they had any travel history, they tell about their return from Chennai or from other parts of the state. By the time we come to know, many of these people would have passed on the virus to others,” a district collector told DH, requesting anonymity.
He added that tracing the contacts of people coming from other districts, including Chennai, is proving to be a tough task as they attend functions like marriage and meet their relatives.
“We have sought the help of the village panchayats and elders in getting information on those returning from other parts of the state where the prevalence of the virus is high. Only if people who come from other districts reduce their social contact, we will be able to bring the spread under control,” the collector said.
Another district collector spoke in similar language, saying people who come with e-pass can easily be tracked as the administration is in possession of all their details.
“We test everyone who comes from Chennai to their native places due to high-prevalence of the virus in the capital. People are generally cooperative, and they undergo tests without any fuss. But the real problem is tracking and tracing the people who sneak into villages without e-pass,” the collector told DH.
EoM
Warm Regards
E. T. B. Sivapriyan
Special Correspondent | Deccan Herald
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