The Greater Chennai Corporation has been instructed to ensure that the number of samples tested daily for COVID-19 in the city is stepped up from 1,300 to the 1,500-1,800 range, according to Chief Secretary K. Shanmugam.
Responding to a question on the perception that there was “delay” in taking samples, testing and declaring the results, the Chief Secretary, told The Hindu on Wednesday, that this was the case about a week ago.
Now, “both data entry and updating the results are done online. The time taken is only 24 hours. There are no issues, now,” he said, adding that he was personally monitoring the situation daily.
In terms of samples tested per million population, it was highest in Chennai. As for contact tracing, Mr. Shanmugam said this had “improved a lot.” The time taken for completing the cycle was 48 hours. Multiple agencies such as the police, Health Department and the local bodies were all involved. “As for Chennai, the status is being reviewed daily by Director-General of Police [J.K. Tripathy] and I,” he said.
Attributing the rising graph of positive cases in Chennai to increased testing, Mr. Shanmugam emphasised that “Chennai is our focus.” Field teams were posted in areas with a heavy concentration of the COVID-19 cases to keep a close watch on following procedures such as contact tracing and containment area management, Mr. Shanmugam said.
