Tamil Nadu: Daily Covid-19 Cases See a Dip, But Social Distancing, Mask Use on a Decline

The number of fresh COVID-19 infections in Tamil Nadu has come down and stayed below 1,500 for the past 40 consecutive days till December 21. Though the threat of the pandemic has drastically reduced, the post-COVID complications and mental health issues need more attention. The post-COVID clinics are far and apart, exposing the recovered persons to further ailments.

The government of Tamil Nadu has relaxed the restrictions on public meetings from December 19, possibly for the political parties to push for the election campaign, posing a threat of another spike. The opening of educational institutions from December 7 for postgraduate and final year undergraduate students have resulted in more than 200 cases in the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) and Anna University in Chennai.

The health department could have to further intensify the tracing methodologies to prevent such hotspots from emerging in the future. The awareness creation among the public too needs much attention from the rural local bodies as the number of people following physical distancing and wearing masks has come down.

POST-COVID COMPLICATIONS AND CARE

The state has one of the highest recovery rates, with 7,86,472 recoveries out of the 8,07,962 total infections so far. The number of casualties stands at 11,995 deaths, which again is considered an achievement. 

Dr. C.S. Rex Sargunam, president of Tamil Nadu Health Development Association, said, “The recovered patients above the age of 60 and with co morbidities need consultations may be up to at least three months. Some of the mortalities take place due to the post COVID complications, which we are missing out on tracking effectively.”

The discharged persons are advised to visit the hospitals in the event of any discomfort but there is dearth of people following this. 

“The recovered persons are advised to check their oxygen level after discharge and in the event of the level decreasing below 95%, they are asked to visit the hospitals. People above the age of 60 and others with co-morbidities need a long-term consultation, both medical and psychological”, Dr Rex added. 

A doctor serving in the government service said, “One post-COVID clinic has been set up in Government Medical College Hospital, Omandurar Estate, in the existing facility of Geriatric Medicine. A few other post-COVID clinics have been set up in major hospitals, but with limited services”.

CONTRACT TRACING AND IDENTIFYING SOURCE

Tamil Nadu has lagged in tracing the contacts of the positive patients, which led to a huge surge in the months after May, after which the curve flattened. The rigorous contract tracing helped Kerala in keeping the numbers under check, until recently.

In Tamil Nadu, the voluntary visit of the public to the fever clinics has been a major mechanism for identifying positive cases. The sero survey, held in end of September has exposed the failure of the tracing mechanism, as one third of the population in Chennai has been exposed to the viral infection. 

The state also has not traced the source of infection for positive patients. The number of tests per positive case has not been disclosed by the state government in the daily bulletins.

The state of Kerala has been continuously documenting the number of fresh infections from ‘unknown sources’, while Tamil Nadu has reported most cases as indigenous. The Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan conceded to the possibility of community spread owing to the increase in cases, but his Tamil Nadu counterpart denied any such possibilities.

RELAXATIONS FOR POLITICAL, RELIGIOUS EVENTS

The test positivity rate in the state has also reduced much to the relief of the health officials. After consultations, the state government has now granted permission for public meetings for political parties and religious events from December 19. The major tourist places across the state have been thrown open for the public as well. But, the permission to new year celebrations has been denied.  

The lack of awareness on wearing masks and maintaining physical distancing may result in another spike in fresh infections. The failure of the political leaders in setting an example in maintaining COVID-19 protocols is evident in the public meetings, press meets, relief measure distribution events and field visits.

CM Edappadi K. Palaniswami started his election campaign from Salem on December 19, where there was no physical distancing. Other political leaders are no exception to this, but the head of the state has the moral responsibility to set an example, critics say.

“The awareness created has been very poor among the public as we can see many people not wearing masks in public places. The people need to be more vigilant as the crowded places could be a source of infection. The public meetings have begun in the state, which could also result in another spike”, added the government doctor from Chennai.

The recent hotspot in IITM is a classic example of the failure of being more vigilant. Around 200 staff and students from IITM and Anna University have been tested positive so far. 

State health secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan has been credited for effective implementation of various regulations to contain the spread. But, the lack of utilising local bodies and civil society organisations to create awareness on being more vigilant still need more attention to prevent another spread.