COVID-19 clusters in educational institutions continued to drive a rise in daily infections on Tuesday. Chengalpattu and Chennai accounted for a majority of the 98 fresh cases reported in the State.
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There were 46 cases in Chengalpattu and 44 in Chennai. The State’s active caseload rose to 542.
Health Minister Ma. Subramanian, who inspected the campus of VIT at Kelambakkam, where a cluster has surfaced, said a total of 118 students had tested positive for the infection on the campus. “Currently, 5,670 first-year students are residing in the hostels. One of them tested positive for the infection last week, after which we tested 1,242 people, of whom 74 were found to have contracted COVID-19. Another 2,943 people were tested, and the results for 1,321 are available. Of them, 44 persons tested positive for the infection. All of them, as well as their contacts, have been isolated,” he said.
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He added that another 1,500 students were to be tested, and the process would be completed by Wednesday. The number of cases on the campus may rise by another 40 to 50, he said.
The Health Minister said daily COVID-19 cases remained below 50 in the State, and there had been no death for nearly three months. Students from other States had started arriving in Tamil Nadu to attend classes and appear for examinations. A total of 237 people had tested positive for the infection at IIT-Madras.
Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan said, “Of late, in Chengalpattu and Chennai, we have had institutional clusters directly linked to fresh batches of students arriving from different States. At Anna University, it was linked to a cultural event. The IIT-Madras and Sathya Sai Medical College clusters now have nil cases after saturation testing and control measures. A few more cases were reported at Anna University during the isolation period.”
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Family clusters emerging after common lunches or dinners was a concern. While new cases had been reported, there had been no change in hospitalisations so far, he said.
In a communication to Collectors and health teams, he said that slowly, isolated clusters in Chennai and Chengalpattu, which were either institutional or had emerged after family functions, were recurring. The daily caseload, which had hit a low of 22 on April 15, was now nearing 100, he said.
“While cases have been mild so far, the fact that they are there shows that the sub-variants and lineages within the sub-variants have reinfection or immune-escape potential. It is better to ensure that anyone with symptoms is checked at the entry point and isolated before others get exposed to the individual,” he said.
“We need to keep giving a push to vaccination. Wearing masks in crowded areas or where people are exposed to each other without the possibility of physical distancing is a must. At the hospital level, we need to ensure that people wear masks, as even one instance of unprotected exposure could pose a risk,” he added.