Take risk-assessment based approach to tackle Covid spike: Centre to TN

The state reported 659 new cases for the week ending June 3, 2022 accounting for 3.13% of the country's new cases

Witnessing a spike in new COVID-19 infections, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday said Tamil Nadu accounts for 3.13 per cent of the new cases reported in the country and urged the state government to take a risk-assessment based approach to public health, without losing the gains made on the fight against the pandemic.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Secretary Rajesh Bhushan in a letter to Tamil Nadu health department principal secretary J Radhakrishnan said the state reported 659 new cases for the week ending June 3, 2022 accounting for 3.13 per cent of the country's new cases.

Bhushan said, "A slight upsurge in cases being noticed to 21,055 cases reported across India and the positivity rate increased to 0.73 per cent for the week ending June 3, 2022." Reacting to the letter from Bhushan, Radhakrishnan directed district administrations to maintain a strict watch on COVID-19 infections and urged them to take pre-emptive action in containing the spread of virus.

Radhakrishnan, in his letter to collectors and commissioners of corporation, said the mild rise in cases and family, and institutional clusters were an 'indirect indication' of waning of immunity and wearing of facial mask and maintaining social distancing in crowded areas 'assume importance'.

Bhushan said, in Tamil Nadu, the cases increased to 659 for the week ending June 3, 2022 from the earlier 335 new cases reported for the week ending May 27 accounting for 3.13 per cent of India's new cases.

"The state has also seen an increase in positivity in the last week from 0.4 per cent to 0.8 per cent," Bhushan said.

Radhakrishnan said, as mentioned in the letter received from the Union Health Secretary, the state must maintain a strict watch and take pre-emptive action, if required to control any emerging spread of infection." Noting that Chennai and Chengalpet recorded an increase in weekly cases among districts, he said the rise in new cases in the two districts require focused intervention from the state administration.

Advising the state to continue implementation and monitoring of necessary measures for effective management of COVID-19, Bhushan said, the strategy of Test-Track-Treat-Vaccination should be followed with continued focus on COVID-19-appropriate behaviour, monitoring clusters of new COVID-19 cases, adequate testing among others.

"It is essential that the state must maintain a strict watch and take pre-emptive action if required to control any emerging spread of infection," the Union health secretary added.

Radhakrishnan urged the collectors to keep reviewing the medical preparedness to ensure there were adequate facilities like beds, oxygen beds with functional flow meters, oxygen concentrators, and ventilators.

Tamil Nadu witnessing an increase in new cases, reported over 100 infections for the third day in a row on Friday, with 113 people testing positive for the virus pushing the cumulative tally to 34,55,871 till date while the death toll remained unchanged at 38,025 with nil fatalities.