3 min readChennaiApr 1, 2021 02:28 PM IST
First published on: Apr 1, 2021 at 02:28 PM IST
With Tamil Nadu polls around the corner, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has been taking steps to ensure the spread of Covid-19 in the city is minimal even as the state has witnessed a surge in the number of cases over the past two weeks.
The GCC had intensified testing and vaccination across the city well ahead of the polls. Masks and social distancing have been mandatory, with fines even imposed in T Nagar for violating government Covid-19 rules.
Containment zones were reintroduced last month now across Chennai’s 15 zones. A total of nine streets and six apartment complexes have been sealed till Wednesday as per data provided by the Greater Chennai Corporation.
“We are taking intensive preventive action in those areas once containment zones have been declared. An area is declared as a containment zones if there are more than three index cases or more than two families have contracted the virus”, Dr. Alby John, Regional Deputy Commissioner (South) told Indianexpress.com.
The containment zones are maintained for a period of ten days currently. While last year, the entire street had been cordoned off when it was identified as a containment zone, Dr. John said that this time, only two or three houses are sealed off as containment zones.
“In the case of an apartment, the entire apartment is sealed off if the complex is small. For big apartment complexes, a call is taken based on field conditions”, Dr. John said.
“We are also taking preventive action in 350 areas with more than three cases or so also to contain the disease”, he added.
Dr. John said that the GCC has been taking all measures to prevent further spread of the virus and stepping it up on a daily basis.
The GCC-run fever clinics too have been witnessing a steady footfall since their inception last year. According to GCC data, 1,13,482 fever clinics have been conducted across all 15 zones in Chennai till date. Around 56,90,771 people have visited the camps. Among them, swabs have been collected from 2,12,566 people who were identified with ILI symptoms while the rest were provided with medication for other ailments.
Chennai recorded 969 positive cases on Wednesday, bringing the city’s total to 2,48,965. There are over 5400 active cases in the city and 110 streets with more than three positive cases.
Meanwhile, a total of 7,47,051 people have been vaccinated in Chennai till March 31, with 21,652 people having been inoculated on Wednesday.
Health workers collect swabs at a fever camp in Chennai. Express Photo: Srinivas K 
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