Tamil Nadu takes stringent measures to curb Covid spread

Chennai: Under the directions of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, the Tamil Nadu health department has taken stringent measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

On Wednesday, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan had written a letter to the state's Health Secretary, J. Radhakrishnan directing him to take stringent measures against the spread of disease and called the Tamil Nadu government to ramp up testing.

Commissioner of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), Gagan Singh Bedi has also directed officials to increase the testing to 25,000 per day and isolate those who have been infected.

Chennai and adjoining districts are expected to have a surge in cases, according to the GCC and the health department.

Bedi on Thursday held a meeting with the City police commissioner, Shankar Jaiswal in the presence of Radhakrishnan, and assessed the situation in Chennai.

The Health Secretary told the media that the GCC has already set up 10,000 oxygen beds anticipating a surge in Covid-19 cases and carried out contact tracing of upto 4,300 people.

The GCC, revenue, and police departments have jointly constituted zonal enforcement teams to prevent the spread of Covid 19 and to penalise those who are not following protocols, including failure to wear masks, social distancing, and using sanitizer.