Increase testing numbers to pre-festival levels: Tamil Nadu Health Dept tells Collectors

With Covid-19 testing numbers going down in the past few days due to festivities, the Health Department on Tuesday wrote to district collectors asking them to increase the testing to “pre-festival levels” immediately, conduct fever camps and ensure containment in “full vigour.”

Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan sent a message to District Collectors and Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) Commissioner G Prakash as the government fears a spurt in coronavirus cases due to festivals and the monsoon which is in full swing in Tamil Nadu.

In his message, Radhakrishnan also expressed concern at “extremely poor” enforcement of masks at public places, and in tourist spots like Hogenakkal, and drew their attention to the increase in Covid-19 cases in Delhi, citing it as a “prime example” of Covid fatigue.

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Tamil Nadu has made substantial progress in containing the spread of Covid-19 as the total number of new cases have been brought below 2,000 for the past few days. However, the number of people tested has also come down, raising concerns in various quarters. The state's tally stood at 7,59,916, including 7,32,656 recoveries and 11,495 deaths on Tuesday morning. The active cases were 15,765.

“Though it is attributed to festivals, rains and holidays still we need to be extremely careful in the coming days and ensure that public don’t take the case reduction as a basis for not following the SOPs and masks and avoiding testing. Kindly ensure that focussed sample collection and SARI and ILI monitoring and setting up fever camps in areas is not brought down,” Radhakrishnan said.

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He also asked the district collector to keep treatable beds, Oxygen, and ICU beds ready so that they are prepared to meet any increase in cases in the next 10 days to a fortnight. The Health Secretary also told the collectors not to “hastily close” any created or identified infrastructure and focus on areas that show a spurt in case.

Unless testing is increased to pre-festival levels, there is likelihood that emerging hot spots and clusters can be missed, he said, adding that next 14 to 28 days are important. Since most states do antigen tests, Radhakrishnan asked district collectors to alert for travel related clusters as well.

He also brought to the attention of district collectors the emergence of two clusters – one in Thanjavur and another in Chennai – and asked them to ensure that tracing and containment is done effectively.

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Contending that enforcement of masks is extremely poor in public places, he also asked district collectors that meetings with traders associations are arranged and government agencies should demonstrate action by imposing fines.

“Present alarming situation in Europe and the USA also is a forewarning for all. Let us not fritter away all the good work done at each level in the corporation and districts by all the departments and focus the next few days to ensure that focussed testing and fever camps and containment are again ensured in full vigour as done before the festival holidays,” he said.