As Tamil Nadu COVID-19 tally touches 42, state plans containment zones

Tamil Nadu reported four more new cases of COVID-19, taking the tally of the total number of positive cases reported from the state to 42, pushing the state government to plan and implement containment measures to stop the spread. 

A bulletin released by the state department of health and family welfare on Saturday evening gave the updated number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state. According to the bulletin, the new cases are a 42-year-old man who had recently travelled from the West Indies (Admitted and being treated at Thanjavur Medical College), a 49-year-old man who had recently returned from the United Kingdom (Admitted and being treated at Christian Medical College, Vellore), a 60-year-old man whose travel history has not yet been revealed (Admitted and being treated at Madurai Rajaji Government Hospital) and a 25-year-old man from West Mambalam in Chennai who had returned from the United States of America (Admitted and being treated at Global Hospitals). 

Given that the number of positive cases in the state has touched 42, the government of Tamil Nadu announced containment measures in the state, in which it would demarcate a 5-kilometre radius of containment zone around the houses of those who have been tested positive for the virus and a 3-kilometre radius of a buffer zone in 10 districts. After demarcation, state health workers will visit every house in the containment zone and check for people with symptoms of COVID-19. They will also be creating a list of people with other ailments, like heart and kidney issues. Tamil Nadu Health Secretary Dr Beela Rajesh told the Times of India that the state is now at the second stage of the pandemic cycle, in which transmission at the local level has been confirmed. She also added that the aim of implementing containment zones and buffer zones is to stop the spread and flatten the curve. 

Meanwhile, the number of active cases in the state stands at 39 as on Sunday morning after two patients were discharged on recovery and one patient died in the hospital.