Hero Image

South Tamil Nadu on vigil as cases double in 10 days

Madurai: All check posts and authorities in the 10 southern districts are on vigil with hundreds of local people continuing to make their way home from other states. With as many as 517 Covid-19 cases reported in south Tamil Nadu from among those who returned from other states, the region’s total cases has doubled in just 10 days.



If between March and May 13, only 603 cases were reported in the southern region, it has now seen 643 more cases between May 14 and 24. About 80% of the cases between May 14 and 24 were influx from other states.

Tirunelveli and Tuticorin districts remained the most affected with 180 and 107 influx cases respectively, followed by Madurai and Virudhunagar with 76 and 63.

The rise in influx cases has raised concern among the authorities in the southern region, who are now trying to ensure that all those entering every district from other states are tested and quarantined. Districts like Tirunelveli and Madurai are seeing hundreds of migrants coming in every day.

“We have a train coming from Mumbai on Monday and we can expect even more people returning to Tirunelveli. But, we are prepared, with quarantine facilities in every taluk to allow people from other states to stay until they are tested for Covid-19,” Tirunelveli district collector Shilpa Prabhakar Satish told TOI.

Officials at all districts are testing every person coming from other states as is the guideline. Accordingly, all those coming from other states, either by train or road, are taken to the nearest quarantine facility.

It usually takes up to 24 hours for a person to get tested and get results. If the results return positive, they are admitted for treatment and if negative they will be under home quarantine for 14 days.

“Even those who are asymptomatic need to be tested as we have seen that majority of Covid-19 patients are asymptomatic,” said a senior health official.

It has also been a challenge for district health officials to ensure that everyone who tested negative followed home quarantine for 14 days.

Though individual district authorities are alerted by other states regarding the migrants who are returning, there are also many who come in via road on their own and are caught at check posts. Though ideally, all those coming in illegally without passes are caught at Krishnagiri, some of them manage to reach their district.

“All those entering the district from other states will be tested for Covid-19. Those without passes will be sent back but they are tested only once,” added the senior health official.

READ ON APP