As new COVID-19 cases dip, TN's hopes of flattening curve rise
The recent daily numbers have been showing a decline or amarginal increase and authorities attribute the trend to amulti-pronged approach adopted by the government to stem thespread of the deadly virus that has so far claimed 15 lives inthe state.
"The last three days saw a decline in the number ofCOVID-19 positive cases, indicating our efforts in monitoringand effective monitoring at that, appropriate preventionmeasures and containment plans are beginning to pay results,"Health Minister C Vijaya Baskar said on Saturday.
Positive cases in Tamil Nadu kept rising steeply from thebeginning of this month largely due to more people whoreturned the Tabhlighi Jamaat event in New Delhi and theircontacts testing positive in various parts of the state, whichis in the fourth spot country-wide with 1,372 cases.
In fact, as much as 84 per cent of the cases in TamilNadu are linked to the last month's Islamic congregation inNizamuddin in Delhi that has turned out to be the biggesthotspot for coronavirus in the country.
Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal had onSaturday said in Delhi that most of the Markaz event-relatedcases have been found in states with high burden of thedisease, such as Tamil Nadu (84 per cent), Telengana (79 percent), Delhi (63 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (59 per cent) andAndhra Pradesh (61 per cent).
One of the reasons cited by the health officials in TamilNadu for the now dwindling numbers is that the government hastested all the estimated about 1,500 Tabhligi event returnees,who were suspected to have been infected with the virus.
With a spurt in the increase in the number of cured --365 as of April 18 -- the state administration led by ChiefMinister K Palaniswami is optimistic that its fight againstthe pandemic will flatten the curve in the coming days andperhaps even the new cases might reach "zero" soon. "Since we have adopted a multi-pronged approach, weare heading towards a good situation," Vijaya Baskar said inan apparent reference to the flattening of the curve, likeneighbouring Kerala. Though Tamil Nadu reported 49 new positive cases onSaturday, taking the total number to 1,372, the number ofinfected has been largely declining since Monday last. After 98 positive cases on April 13, the state recorded31 the next day, 38 cases on Wednesday, 25 on Thursday, 56 onFriday and 49 on Saturday. Nearly 30 people among the Tablighi meet attendees, whowere later officially referred as "single-source", weredischarged on recovery from different hospitals. In hotspots like Chennai, which has the highest number ofinfected people in the state, the civic body has been keepinga tab on the residents, carrying out door knocks through itshealth staff to ascertain if any new case is reported, besidescontainment measures such as sealing of localities.
The Greater Chennai Corporation has already made out alist of persons with co-morbid health conditions likediabetes, hypertension and other vulnerable sections includingthe senior citizens. "Since the first COVID-19 case was reported on March 8,the health department has mobilised teams to step up vigil andtook appropriate preventive measures, and the governmentupscaled the special COVID-19 ward facilities in Chennai andin several districts government hospitals," a senior healthofficial said.
Those with travel history and their relatives weremonitored, he added.
On the 15 fatalities due to COVID-19 in the state, VijayaBaskar insists the mortality rate of 1.1 per cent was the'lowest.'
Another factor that worked in favour of the governmentwas the effective awareness campaign initiated by it.
"Majority of the people complied with the curfew andare staying indoors. This is a great support to Tamil Nadugovernment to contain COVID-19 spread," the Minister said. Also, virus tests are conducted even on those withinfluenza like illness (ILI) and "positive cases are undercontrol," he said. State Health Secretary Beela Rajesh has been instrumentalin identifying vulnerable groups among the population,including pregnant women, and ensured the patients havingother ailments had their regular dose of medicines without anyhindrance, officials said.
Rajesh is a medical doctor as well, much like the stateHealth Minister.
Officials pointed out that when the number of positivecases spiked, the state rolled out a series of proactivemeasures under the guidance of the chief minister.
It announced a statewide lockdown a day ahead ofPrime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement on a similarnationwide exercise last month.