For the third day in a week, Puducherry did not record any COVID-19 death on Friday even as health authorities proposed an increase in RT-PCR test numbers.
Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi after a review meeting with officials said RT-PCR test numbers would be increased following the ICMR observation that while there was a decline in cases overall, test positivity rates were not coming down to satisfactory levels probably due to high disease transmission in certain pockets/clusters.
A qualitative case analysis to identify the source of infection — markets, marriage halls, restaurants, bars or workplaces — and higher surveillance of schools are among the recommended measures.
A. Anbarasu, Secretary, Relief and Rehabilitation, has been tasked with framing an action plan to implement measures recommended by the ICMR.
A COVID behaviour survey as suggested by the ICMR would be conducted in Puducherry, Ms. Bedi said.
ICMR senior scientist Prabhdeep Kaur had recommended such a survey on the lines of one held recently in association with Chennai Corporation that assessed safety compliance with regard to masks.
The survey of 3,600 persons across several spots in Chennai found that only 30 per cent wore masks correctly to cover their nose and mouth while another 20 per cent wore masks improperly.
A team of experts would continue to audit each case of fatality, Ms. Bedi said.
The Pondicherry University would disseminate awareness messages on its community radio while University students would contribute to raise awareness.
Meanwhile, Puducherry recorded 149 new cases in the last 24 hours. The new COVID-19 cases were confirmed during the testing of 3,560 samples while 128 patients were discharged from hospitals during the last 24 hours.
Puducherry accounted for 97 of the new infections followed by Karaikal (27), Mahe (12) and Yanam (13).
The test positivity rate was 4.18%, case fatality rate 1.70% and recovery rate 87.59%.
The overall tally stood at 34,908 after the transfer of two cases to Tamil Nadu, Director of Health and Family Welfare S. Mohan Kumar said.
The tally is 592 deaths, 3,739 active cases and 30,577 recovered patients. Of the 3.05 lakh samples tested so far, 2.66 lakh samples were negative.
