Coronavirus: Tamil Nadu panel suggests ramping up of testing, gradual release of lockdown

An expert panel of doctors on Thursday asked the Tamil Nadu government not to reduce the testing numbers as increased testing helps in getting to know the spread of Coronavirus, even as the state continues to report massive spurt in Covid-19 cases.

The panel also opined that there should no panic over the increasing number of cases and suggested to the government not to reduce the number of tests being conducted every day. The state on an average test more than 11,000 tests with over 3,000 to 4,000 in Chennai alone.

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Tamil Nadu had tested nearly 2.80 lakh samples since the Covid-19 outbreak began in March and the tally touched 9,227 on Wednesday.

“We have suggested to the government that they should not reduce the number of tests that are being conducted now. They can increase and there is no problem with that, but the numbers should not be reduced. The focus should continue to be on surveillance, testing, contact tracing, isolation, and quarantine,” Dr. Prabhdeep Kaur, Deputy Director of National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai, told reporters here.

She also said Tamil Nadu has one of the lowest death rates due to Covid-19 in the country and suggested improving participation from the community. Dr. Kaur, who was talking after meeting Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, added that the committee also suggested the gradual release of the lockdown.

Dr. P. Kuganantham, former Chennai city health officer and epidemiologist, said the government agreed to their suggestion that the lockdown should be relaxed gradually. “We also told the government that people’s participation in the fighting the virus is vital and suggested that some of the restrictions should continue. We also told them that people should be educated on social distancing,” he said.