Tamil Nadu’s coronavirus tally crosses 7,000; Chennai has close to 4,000 cases

Tamil Nadu on Sunday reported another massive spike in COVID-19 numbers with 669 people, 509 from the state capital Chennai alone, testing positive for coronavirus, pushing the tally to 7,000 mark. The state has 7,204 positive cases, including 47 deaths and 1,959 recoveries with Chennai on the top of the list accounting for 3,839 patients.

Northern districts that are located in close proximity to Chennai like Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu, and Villupuram are some of the worst-affected districts. Backward districts like Cuddalore and Ariyalur that send thousands of people to cities like Chennai for jobs have recorded 395 and 275 cases, respectively.

The Koyambedu Market cluster is expanding day by day and that is one of the major reasons for the massive spurt in the number of positive cases reported every day, besides ramping up of testing capacity by the Health Department.

As of Saturday, the Koyambedu cluster alone accounted for 1,867 cases, while the Health Department did not give updated numbers on Sunday. The increase in the number of cases in the metropolis is attributed to the “targeted testing” method that the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has adopted to prevent further outbreak of COVID-19.

Revenue Commissioner and Special Nodal Officer for GCC J Radhakrishnan told reporters that the city could witness a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases for the next five to six days as the “targeted testing” strategy is on full swing.

“Koyambedu, Thiru Vi. Ka. Nagar and Tiruvanmiyur are some of the clusters that have taken shape in the city and we are testing people who are from these groups. Besides targeted testing, we are also testing who fall in the vulnerable category like elders and people who have co-morbid conditions. People’s participation in this war against coronavirus is vital,” Radhakrishnan said.

Till now, the state has tested 2,43,037 samples and had 5,195 active cases as on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the government further relaxed the lockdown norms by allowing standalone shops in 24 categories like four-wheeler and two-wheeler car dealerships, automobile service centers, courier services, furniture shops, and mobile phone outlets to function from Monday.