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More Coronavirus Cases Likely In Chennai As State Tests Emerging Clusters

Tamil Nadu has breached the 7,000 mark. Chennai accounted for 509 of the 669 new coronavirus cases reported on Sunday.
Health officials stamp a quarantine seal on the arm of an citizen evacuated from Dubai by an Air India flight, as she arrived along with others at the Anna International Airport in Chennai on May 9, 2020.
ARUN SANKAR via Getty Images
Health officials stamp a quarantine seal on the arm of an citizen evacuated from Dubai by an Air India flight, as she arrived along with others at the Anna International Airport in Chennai on May 9, 2020.

The surge in Tamil Nadu’s COVID-19 cases is being attributed to aggressive testing. The state reported three more deaths and 669 fresh infections on Sunday, taking the tally of confirmed cases to 7,204, the third highest in India.

Of the 669 people infected, 412 were men and 257 women who got the disease through contact.

Chennai accounted for 509 of the 669 new coronavirus cases. Special nodal officer for Greater Chennai Corporation region J Radhakrishnan told reporters that the rise in numbers was not cause for worry as it showed aggressive testing had detected infections to halt further spread of the disease.

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“We need not fear looking at the numbers. Over the past nine days we have been doing targeted testing. First it was the Koyambedu cluster and also the North Chennai cluster. We have to contextualise this increase in numbers with the increase in testing. We have to remember that Tamil Nadu has been doing the highest number of tests for detecting COVID-19 in the country,” he said, according to The NewsMinute.

Radhakrishnan said the numbers may continue to be high in Chennai for the next five-six days, considering more and more testing, emerging clusters like Tiruvanmiyur market in south Chennai and in view of cases in some parts of north Chennai.

The official pointed out that families as a whole have been testing positive in some north Chennai areas. He also said that during inspections they found that about 30% of the people here did not cover their faces.

People buy groceries at a temporary market, marked with circles on the floor to maintain social distancing, set up at a bus stand in Chennai on April 9, 2020.
ARUN SANKAR via Getty Images
People buy groceries at a temporary market, marked with circles on the floor to maintain social distancing, set up at a bus stand in Chennai on April 9, 2020.

The Koyambedu cluster in Chennai

A total of 3,839 people have been infected in the state capital.

The spurt in the number of cases in Chennai and several other districts is attributed to the Koyambedu market which emerged as a worrying hotspot towards April month end.

Radhakrishnan said that “overall stability” had been achieved at the Koyambedu market hotspot but did not elaborate on this.

Indian Express cited the state health department’s contact tracing data to say that the total number of cases linked to the Koyambedu cluster was 2,005, higher than 1,350 cases linked to the Tablighi congregation.

While the Tablighi cluster’s 631 primary contacts had infected 719 secondary contacts, 875 primary contacts of ‘Koyambedu cluster’ had infected another 1,130 close contacts, the Express report said.

Cases across the state

Alongside Chennai, the districts of Tiruvallur (337), Chengelpet (267) and Kancheepuram (122) that adjoin the state capital and Cuddalore (395) and Villupuram (299) in northern Tamil Nadu account for 73% of the total 7,204 cases in the state, PTI reported.

Central Tamil Nadu districts of Ariyalur and Perambalur have 275 and 104 cases respectively.

Districts in southern Tamil Nadu like Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli have 24 and 90 cases respectively which are much lower than seen in northern and central parts of the State.

Sunday’s health department bulletin said the state had tested 2,43,037 samples so far, with 13,367 throat/nasal swab specimens taken for examination on Sunday alone.

While 135 people were discharged on Sunday following recovery from various hospitals, the aggregate number of those who have overcome the illness caused by the virus stood at 1,959.

(With PTI inputs.)

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.