Health Secretary Radhakrishnan urged collectors to increase vaccinations and enforce COVID-19 protocols.
Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan has asked all the District Collectors (DCs) to stay alert following a marginal increase in COVID-19 cases in the state. The directive was issued on Friday, September 10.
While the rise is marginal, the test positivity rate (TPR) that stood at 0.97 percent on September 4 touched 1 percent on September 10. Even though the increase is negligible the state government is not taking any chances that might cause an increase in coronavirus cases in the state.
The Health Secretary in the circular to the DCs said the increase in TPR is not due to the increase in testing but actual increase in coronavirus positive cases which cannot be taken lightly. He insisted the respective district collectors of the state increase vaccinations and enforce COVID-19 appropriate behaviour among the public.
Districts such as Chennai, Chengalpattu, Coimbatore, Tiruvallur, Tirupur, Erode, Nagapattinam and Madurai had fluctuating TPR results for the past few days.
Radhakrishnan told the DCs that the emergence of new clusters of COVID-19 in workplaces and communities is a worrying trend. A family in Chennai, according to health department officials, reported five positive cases on September 10.
While the admission of new COVID-19 patients in government hospitals in Chennai remained the same in the past one month, doctors, according to the public health department officials, opined that there was a marginal increase in admission of coronavirus positive patients in private hospitals.
Suchithra V Menon, Public Health Expert at Chennai, told IANS, “There is a slight or rather marginal increase in the admission of patients with corona positive results in private hospitals. It is negligible but considering the history of the pandemic, the state government is not taking any chances and hence the Health Secretary’s directive to all District Collectors.”
According to the daily health bulletin, Tamil Nadu on September 10 recorded 1,631 new cases and 25 deaths. Among all districts, Coimbatore district continues to record the highest number of cases in the state with 235 fresh cases on September 10.
Source: The News Minute