<p>Tamil Nadu on Monday reported a massive spike in COVID-19 numbers with 527 people testing positive in a single day, courtesy the Koyambedu market cluster that has emerged as the newest hotspot for coronavirus infections.</p>.<p>As the cluster grew affecting people across the state, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) announced closure of the Koyambedu Wholesale Market Complex (KWMC), which spread across 295 acres, from Tuesday and shifted it to the suburbs as a temporary measure.</p>.<p>Over 350 people, including workers and vendors of the wholesale vegetable and fruit market, have tested positive so far with Cuddalore and Villupuram, two backward districts in north Tamil Nadu that send thousands of workers to Chennai, contributing 129 and 76 patients to the cluster, respectively. This includes an IPS officer - a Deputy Commissioner in Chennai -- who had been visiting the market complex for official purposes. </p>.<p>People from across the state work at the Koyambedu Wholesale Market Complex (KWMC) which is spread across 295 acres in Chennai. Most of these people had reached their home districts, after the Koyambedu cluster emerged, by hopping on to trucks and vans that carry vegetables.</p>.<p>Monday’s figure of 527 came from across the state with Chennai at the top with 266 cases, Cuddalore (122), Villupuram (49), Perambalur (25), and Tiruvannamalai (11) among others. The Health Department said, “a large number of Monday’s cases are linked to Koyambedu Market”, without revealing further details.</p>.<p>Chennai stood at the top with a total of 1,724 cases even as the state tested 12,863 samples on Monday alone, one of the highest in the country, with the total number of samples tested so far standing at 1,62,970. The active cases stood at 2,107 with one death – a 65-year-old man -- taking the death toll to 31.</p>.<p>With the Koyambedu market cluster growing every passing day, district administrations in Tamil Nadu were on Monday asked to trace more than 7,500 people, including workers and vendors of the wholesale vegetable and fruit market. </p>.<p>Separately, the district administrations are also trying to contact vegetable and fruit dealers who had visited the wholesale market in the past few days to buy supplies.</p>.<p>“This (Koyambedu cluster) is definitely a cause of concern for us. We have successfully traced all contacts of one cluster (Tablighi Jamaat) last month. We are doing the same on a larger scale this time. District administrations have a list and they are also taking the help of locals in tracing these people,” Health Secretary Dr. Beela Rajesh told DH.</p>.<p>Besides roping in locals, vendors, and also leaders of traders’ associations in the area, the district administrations have made public appeals to the people who either worked or visited the market complex to report themselves and get tested. Some district Collectors said they will quarantine these people at institutions to ensure they do not spread the virus in case they are carrying it.</p>.<p>Kanchipuram collector P Ponniah said 647 people related to the Koyambedu cluster have so far been identified from his district bordering Chennai out of which 29 have tested positive for COVID-19. “Swab samples from 520 people have so far been collected and the remaining will also be tested. They will be shifted to hospitals immediately if they test positive. These people are under strict home quarantine,” he told DH.</p>.<p>Ponniah said the areas close to Chennai Kundrathur and Mangadu are worst-affected and massive containment plans are being implemented to prevent further spread of the disease.</p>.<p>Cuddalore, which has maximum numbers in the cluster, has identified 699 people and quarantined them at various institutions in the district. “Since these people belong to low-income groups, we did not send them home. They are being quarantined at various facilities and are undergoing the test. We do not allow them to go home even if they test negative. They will be under quarantine for 14 days,” district collector V Anbuselvan told DH.</p>
<p>Tamil Nadu on Monday reported a massive spike in COVID-19 numbers with 527 people testing positive in a single day, courtesy the Koyambedu market cluster that has emerged as the newest hotspot for coronavirus infections.</p>.<p>As the cluster grew affecting people across the state, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) announced closure of the Koyambedu Wholesale Market Complex (KWMC), which spread across 295 acres, from Tuesday and shifted it to the suburbs as a temporary measure.</p>.<p>Over 350 people, including workers and vendors of the wholesale vegetable and fruit market, have tested positive so far with Cuddalore and Villupuram, two backward districts in north Tamil Nadu that send thousands of workers to Chennai, contributing 129 and 76 patients to the cluster, respectively. This includes an IPS officer - a Deputy Commissioner in Chennai -- who had been visiting the market complex for official purposes. </p>.<p>People from across the state work at the Koyambedu Wholesale Market Complex (KWMC) which is spread across 295 acres in Chennai. Most of these people had reached their home districts, after the Koyambedu cluster emerged, by hopping on to trucks and vans that carry vegetables.</p>.<p>Monday’s figure of 527 came from across the state with Chennai at the top with 266 cases, Cuddalore (122), Villupuram (49), Perambalur (25), and Tiruvannamalai (11) among others. The Health Department said, “a large number of Monday’s cases are linked to Koyambedu Market”, without revealing further details.</p>.<p>Chennai stood at the top with a total of 1,724 cases even as the state tested 12,863 samples on Monday alone, one of the highest in the country, with the total number of samples tested so far standing at 1,62,970. The active cases stood at 2,107 with one death – a 65-year-old man -- taking the death toll to 31.</p>.<p>With the Koyambedu market cluster growing every passing day, district administrations in Tamil Nadu were on Monday asked to trace more than 7,500 people, including workers and vendors of the wholesale vegetable and fruit market. </p>.<p>Separately, the district administrations are also trying to contact vegetable and fruit dealers who had visited the wholesale market in the past few days to buy supplies.</p>.<p>“This (Koyambedu cluster) is definitely a cause of concern for us. We have successfully traced all contacts of one cluster (Tablighi Jamaat) last month. We are doing the same on a larger scale this time. District administrations have a list and they are also taking the help of locals in tracing these people,” Health Secretary Dr. Beela Rajesh told DH.</p>.<p>Besides roping in locals, vendors, and also leaders of traders’ associations in the area, the district administrations have made public appeals to the people who either worked or visited the market complex to report themselves and get tested. Some district Collectors said they will quarantine these people at institutions to ensure they do not spread the virus in case they are carrying it.</p>.<p>Kanchipuram collector P Ponniah said 647 people related to the Koyambedu cluster have so far been identified from his district bordering Chennai out of which 29 have tested positive for COVID-19. “Swab samples from 520 people have so far been collected and the remaining will also be tested. They will be shifted to hospitals immediately if they test positive. These people are under strict home quarantine,” he told DH.</p>.<p>Ponniah said the areas close to Chennai Kundrathur and Mangadu are worst-affected and massive containment plans are being implemented to prevent further spread of the disease.</p>.<p>Cuddalore, which has maximum numbers in the cluster, has identified 699 people and quarantined them at various institutions in the district. “Since these people belong to low-income groups, we did not send them home. They are being quarantined at various facilities and are undergoing the test. We do not allow them to go home even if they test negative. They will be under quarantine for 14 days,” district collector V Anbuselvan told DH.</p>
