As lockdown without relaxations continued for day two here, Chief Minister K Palaniswami described it as a ‘speed breaker’, saying the curbs were being used to further augment detection of COVID-19 cases in Chennai by conducting more door to door surveys and fever camps.
All measures are in place for both early identification and treatment of people who test positive, he told reporters after inspecting quarantine amenities at Guru Nanak School in Velachery here.
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Saturday said the ongoing 12-day complete lockdown in Chennai and parts of its three surrounding districts was like a ‘speed breaker’.
When asked if there was a possibility of the current lockdown being extended further, he said, as of now, there are no plans of extending the lockdown.
Palaniswami said 33,839 persons were tested for coronavirus infection symptoms at 527 fever camps and 694 persons are undergoing treatment. He said the lockdown is like a speed breaker on the roads. The speed breaker prevents accidents from happening and the lockdown prevents the spread of coronavirus.
Palaniswami said a total of 30,271 COVID-19 patients have been cured and discharged from the hospitals out of the total 54,449 persons infected in the state as on Friday. He said the recovery rate is 54 percent in the state.
The total number of active cases in the state stands at 23,509 while the death toll was at 666 as on Friday. The chief minister said 80 percent of the people who test positive are asymptomatic and they will get well within a week. Only 20 percent show symptoms and only seven or eight percent are severely affected and are admitted to hospitals.
