Tamil Nadu has stepped up vigil as COVID-19 cases are on the rise in some parts of the country, including Maharashtra and Kerala.
While fever surveillance is being strengthened in the border areas, Chennai, Coimbatore and Chengalpattu will be put on alert for clusters.
Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan said officials had been told to set up or reinforce checkpoints along the border with Kerala (about 26), Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to check for fever among those entering Tamil Nadu.
The Corporations should conduct fever screening at railway stations and bus terminals, while mobile screening could be organised at places where people gather, he added.
Chennai, Coimbatore and Chengalpattu must be on alert for clusters. Tirunelveli, which witnessed an inflow of people from Mumbai, should also be on alert, Dr. Radhakrishnan said.
If there are more than three cases in an area, officials should ensure effective containment zone activity. He told officials that strict action to ensure the use of mask was missing. He cautioned them against letting down guard, absence of monitoring of mask-wearing and reducing the focus on containment measures.
The official pointed out that mandatory masking was less than 10% at most public places. Maharashtra was already in the midst of a new wave, and Tamil Nadu, too, for the last 15 days was having localised clusters, in which families and individuals who had attended functions were testing positive for the infection.
The number has not risen dramatically in Tamil Nadu so far. However, he said, “We should not be complacent. Contact-tracing, containment, early initiation of treatment and follow-up of all protocols and Standard Operating Procedures should be reviewed regularly.”
On the Centre deputing a multi-disciplinary team to Tamil Nadu, besides a few other States, he said there were no specific reason. “Our numbers are in the range of 450 to 500 and case positivity is about 1%. Other States have a spurt and increase in positivity but some also had lesser numbers. They also look at overall absolute numbers.” As per data, on February 23, Maharashtra recorded a positivity rate of 9.2%, while Kerala had 5.8%. Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Gujarat had a positivity rate of 1% to 1.7%, while Tamil Nadu’s positivity rate stood at 0.9%.
The Health Secretary also called for measures to improve vaccination.
