Total lockdown brings down virus cases in Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: A day after Tamil Nadu announced a 12-day intense lockdown in Chennai and parts of three adjacent northern districts from June 19 seems to have had a salutary effect, at least on the day-wise Covid-19 positive cases in the State on Tuesday.

Both the total number of persons testing positive for coronavirus for the State as a whole and for Chennai city in particular saw notable drops. In the case of the former, the number of persons testing positive in the State today at 1,515 declined by 18.02 per cent against 1,843 cases on Monday.

Likewise, the number of persons testing positive for Covid-19 in greater Chennai alone, again slid by 26 per cent on a single day today to 919 cases, against 1,257 cases testing positive for the virus on Monday. These are encouraging signs in the long battle to stop the Covid-19 spread, as even epidemiologists aver that the trend after hitting a peak would begin to fall.

However, public health experts wish to keep their fingers crossed as the number of deaths confirmed on a single day today again shot up to a new high of 49 patients succumbing to the virus, taking the State's death toll to 528. Of the 49 deaths, 35 died in government and 14 in private hospitals.

Also, the chances of patients with chronic diseases like hyper-tension, kidney, heart diseases and diabetes and other comorbidities dying after a Covid-19 attack continue to be more in 46 of these cases. Apart from three deaths in Chengalpattu medical college hospital, a 70-year-old male at Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai and two persons dying in a private hospital in Kancheepuram, Chennai accounted for the remaining 43 deaths.  

However, the number of patients discharged as on date at 26,782 continues to be ahead of the number of active cases of coronavirus at 20,716, indicating that Tamil Nadu is still ahead in the therapeutic curve. The total number of Covid-19 positive cases is still climbing at 48,019.

What is significant is that these numbers continue to back what the State Ministers have been saying that, despite the rising numbers, an equally significant number of patients are getting cured and discharged. This point was reiterated today both by the Transport Minister M.R. Vijayabaskar who went around Valasarvakkam zone in Chennai and Fisheries Minister, D Jayakumar who reviewed the Covid-19 steps in Royapuram zone.

"We continue to test more people per day - today it was another high of 19,242 samples having been lifted for testing- and the number of people infected by coronavirus and the death rate is lower when compared to other States like Maharashtra and Delhi," said Mr. Jayakumar, adding, the government was ready to present all these details in court if the DMK leader M K Stalin as reported, decided to move the court on the issue.