COVID-19 cases in Perambalur district lowest in State

Perambalur district recorded the lowest number of COVID-19 cases among all districts in Tamil Nadu over the last six months.

Senior officials attribute it to intensive testing and low population density. With a population of around 6.41 lakh, personal distancing is practised, said V. Santha, Collector. “We do not have to force people to follow the norms as the number of people per square km is markedly low,” she said.

The COVID-19 testing facility can process up to 800 samples, and while at least 400 to 500 are being lifted per day, the cases have not crossed the 20-mark in six weeks, she added. As on Wednesday, a total of 2013 patients had tested positive. Among them, 1911 have been discharged and only 82 active cases remain.

Deputy Director of Health Services S. Geetharani said that while in larger districts, apartments, gated communities and congested areas were causes for spread of the viral infection, Perambalur did not have any such contributing factors.

Of the 1209 returnees from other countries, only one person had tested positive. After attending the single-source event in New Delhi, only one man and three of his contacts tested positive in the district. People who had been working at the Koyambedu market and tested positive on return accounted for 130 cases. However, since quarantine norms were in place, the spread was significantly controlled. “We had the infrastructure in place since March,” Dr. Geetharani said.

While the positivity rate was as high as 13% between July and August, it has fallen to 1.3% since September. “The biggest challenge was a large manufacturing company with over 5,000 employees. To keep a check on spread of the infection, a team of health officials should conduct a screening test at least once a month,” Dr. Geetharani said. A special 50-bed quarantine facility has also been kept ready there.

A total of 13 medical camps, all Primary Healthcare Centres and the four government hospitals are fully equipped to handle it, in case another spike is recorded, she said adding- “Through close monitoring of the Influenza-Like Illnesses, Severe Acute Respiratory Illnesses and 10 other factors, we can easily predict the spike or drop in COVID-19 cases. Each PHC, private hospital provides this data, which is regularly monitored,” she said.