Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami will hold meetings with health experts on Monday to discuss the course of action to control the second wave of Covid-19 in the state. The meeting comes three days after the government re-introduced several restrictions on April 10. The Tamil Nadu government also warned of imposing prohibitory orders at night and imposing further restrictions if the public doesn’t adhere to the guidelines. On Saturday, the state government prohibited public gatherings on beaches in Chennai, Chengalpattu and Tiruvallur districts. Health Secretary Radhakrishnan Saturday said containing the virus spread in districts like Chennai, Chengalpattu, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Coimbatore, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam has been challenging and urgent measures are being taken in that regard. After inspecting a Covid-19 Care Centre at Victoria Hostel in Chennai to set up additional beds, Radhakrishnan said “In Chennai, Ranipet, Theni, Coimbatore, Chengalpet Tiruvannamalai the positivity rate is higher than the national average of 5.17 per cent. Our primary target is to bring down the positivity rate below 5 per cent. The only way to achieve that is by conducting more tests, identifying the positive cases, isolating and treating them, thereby preventing further transmissions." Radhakrishnan added that all the district collectors have been instructed to monitor the Covid-19 Care Centres and ensure there are adequate beds, oxygen supply, and appoint more health care workers if needed. “Our aim is to prevent transmissions and deaths. We are still not in same position like Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh or Punjab. Only by wearing masks and following other Standard Operating Procedure we can break the chain,” he said. In view of the rise in Covid-19 cases, the government has reconstituted Field Support teams comprising IAS officers, District Revenue officers, police personnel, medical officers in all 15 zones of the Greater Chennai Corporation to ensure effective preventive measures are taken to curb the spread of Covid-19. As per a Government Order issued by Rajeev Ranjan, officials have been asked to ensure quick sampling, testing and release of results in a time-bounded manner. Volunteers have been deployed across the city to visit each household as part of COVID surveillance Tamil Nadu reported 6,618 fresh Covid-19 cases on Sunday, taking the total tally to 9,33,434. With 22 deaths in the last 24 hours, the state death toll rose to 12,908. This includes 2124 new cases and 12 deaths in Chennai.
