Districts that have not witnessed any case of COVID-19 must ensure that people do not forget to follow the safety protocols and stay alert, Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan has said.
In a letter to Collectors, the Chennai Corporation Commissioner and Health Department and medical college officials, Dr. Radhakrishnan said it was necessary to remain vigilant and follow COVID-19 protocols.
The recent increase in cases in Greater Chennai Corporation areas and Chengalpattu was an indirect pointer to a reduction in the level of immunity in the community, and also, to some extent, the immune-escape potential of the Omicron sub-variant and lineages in circulation, he said.
He called for temperature checks at entry points in workplaces, and stressed that anyone with fever should be isolated to avoid exposure to others. At the hospital level, people should wear masks “as even one unprotected exposure can risk others”, especially “as there is a tendency to think COVID-19 is gone”, he said.
For the ‘learn to live with COVID approach’ to succeed, the standard public health preventive and control strategies must be embedded. People should mask up in crowded and closed places and maintain a safe distance during community lunches, he said.
Symptomatic persons should immediately get tested and isolate themselves and their family till the results arrive, he said.
