Koyambedu cluster still active, new cases daily: Official

CHENNAI: Even after spreading COVID-19 among more than 2,500 persons in the State, who are mostly traders, workers and their contacts, the Koyambedu Market cluster is still active as the family members of affected persons continue contracting the disease.

A Chennai Corporation source said that the four cases, all contacts of affected persons, were tested positive in division 127 on Wednesday and two such cases were identified on Thursday. The Koyambedu Wholesale Market Complex (KWMC) gained notoriety after several traders and workers contracted the virus and inadvertently spread to their family members and contacts across the State.

"We are taking containment measures to stop the spread of the virus outside the division and also inside the locality. The move of distributing kabasura kudineer to the residents is working and cases are decreasing gradually. We had more than 40 cases reported on a single day. Compared to that, cases are decreasing," the source added.

As per the Chennai Corporation data, division 127 had more than 430 positive cases as on Thursday, which is the highest number of cases in one division in the city. Of the total 200 divisions in the Chennai Corporation, only 34 divisions have more than 50 per cent of the total cases reported in the city.

"Most of the traders and workers are residing around the market and the areas near it, which fall under division 127. Also, divisions bordering division 127 also have a higher number of cases," the source said.

Divisions such as 93, 100, 105, 128, 145 and 148, all sharing boundaries with Koyambedu division, have as many as 599 cases as on Wednesday. Highest among those divisions, division 145 (Nerkundram), where traders reside in the majority, had 224 positive cases.

Following the huge number of positive cases, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority had already shifted the market temporarily to Thirumazhisai.

On the other hand, the number of cases is increasing across the city but the civic body rules out a single source like the Delhi conference or Koyambedu cluster. "Now, the cases are largely due to the difficulty in following social distancing norms. Crowding and dense population are the reasons for the spread in North Chennai," an official attached to Royapuram zone said.

Meanwhile, around 30 per cent of cases reported in the city every day are from outside the containment zones, with a significant number of index cases.