Tamil Nadu: More cases in Anna Nagar, Tondiarpet in three days

CHENNAI: Tondiarpet and Anna Nagar zones have seen a spike in Covid-19 cases in the past three days, while the rate of increase is lower in Valasaravakkam and Adyar zones.

For instance, the daily average number of cases recorded in Tondiarpet in the last three days has been 184.3. This figure was 91.33 in the last fortnight. The spike of 93 cases in the daily average is the highest for all zones under the Greater Chennai Corporation.
Anna Nagar has the second highest surge in the daily average, 52 cases.In comparison, the figure for Royapuram, the zone with highest number of cases in the city, stands at 44.27. For Adyar and Valasaravakkam zones, the numbers are 10.73 and 8.33.
Civic officials attribute the rise in numbers in Tondiarpet and Anna Nagar to increased testing. Speaking to TOI, nodal IAS officer for Tondiarpet zone K P Karthikeyan said testing was increased following identification of influenza-like illness (ILI) patients during intensive fever surveillance. Every day, 12 to 15 camps are being conducted in areas that had more fever cases.
Another factor is that 15,000 residents with co-morbidities such as diabetes and hypertension are also being selectively tested, he said.
In areas where people are unwilling to come forward to get tested for lack of public transport, the civic body is deploying mobile testing vans, Karthikeyan said. The presence of a designated Covid hospital in the area, Stanley Medical College, is also a reason for the increase in the cases, he added.
Similarly, in Anna Nagar too, there has been an increased focus on testing asymptomatic contacts of positive cases in lower middle-class residential areas, a junior civic official said.