Tamil Nadu: Growth of Covid-19 +ve cases faster than in 2020, warns DPH

CHENNAI: Warning that the growth rate of positive cases is higher than during the earlier surge in 2020, the directorate of public health advised district health officials to take effective control measures on Friday, when Tamil Nadu registered 3,290 fresh Covid -19 cases and 12 deaths.
The case tally touched 8.92 lakh (8,92,780) and cumulative toll tally reached 12,750.After discharging 1,715 patients, there are 18,606 people who are still undergoing treatment for the viral infection.
"The case count is rising exponentially on a week to week basis," said director of public health Dr T S Selvavinayagam. On Friday, the weekly average number of fresh cases reported in the state was 2,513 compared to 462 cases reported on March 2. The last time the state saw a weekly average around 2,500 was in the first week of November 2020. The growth rate of average weekly cases was 5.7% in Tamil Nadu - the highest since July 2020. On March 2, it was on the decline at -0.3%. "The rate of growth of positive cases this time is higher than the earlier surge in 2020. Cases are not only increasing in urban areas but also in tier 2 cities and rural areas," he said.
While hotspot Chennai reported 1,188 new cases, its neighbours Chengalpet (280), Tiruvallur (183) and Kancheepuram (119) together reported 582 cases. While Chennai reported seven deaths, Kancheepuram registered one more. Beside these districts four others reported cases in three digits - Coimbatore (277), Trichy (122), Thanjavur (120) and Madurai (105).
The number of people who took vaccination against Covid -19 declined to 60,726 on Friday. So far, 3175349 people have taken the vaccine in the state.