Chennai to increase Covid testing to 25k per day

Chennai: Amid the spike in coronavirus cases, the Greater Chennai Corporation is mulling to increase Covid testing to 25,000 tests per day.

The Chennai administration is also planning to increase the number of beds to 12,000 in the healthcare facilities for Covid patients.

Greater Chennai Corporation Secretary G. Prakash told IANS: "There is a demand for an increase in tests and we are increasing the number of daily testing capacity to 25,000 from the present 12,000 to 16,000 per day.

"The Chennai corporation is equipped with the necessary beds and all the other facilities are available here."

With the number of Covid-19 cases increasing in Chennai, the corporation has gone for more stringent Covid protocols and micro containment zones in the city as this would cause minimum difficulty to the general public.

Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said, "Increasing the testing and then isolating those Covid positive patients is the best method to contain the pandemic."

The civic body has already taken stringent action in increasing the number of micro containment zones in the city and checking the mobility of people.

With curbs imposed on night travel across Tamil Nadu, Chennai has been witnessing lesser mobility of people at the Koyambedu municipal bus stand. Besides, the night curfew after 10 p.m. has also restricted people's movement on the streets.

The corporation has been conducting regular campaigns on the importance of wearing masks, social distancing, testing and vaccination via various social media platforms.