Taking a dim view of the “spurt” in influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) cases in some districts, Chief Secretary K. Shanmugam on Monday asked all District Collectors to follow a strategy of “aggressive and focussed testing” for achieving early detection of COVID-19 cases. If COVID-19 cases are on the rise in slums or other congested areas, “high risk” families can be shifted to quarantine centres. ‘Early detection’On bringing down the fatality rate, Mr. Shanmugam emphasised the importance of “early detection and early admission to hospitals”. Collectors must “continuously review” the existing health infrastructure in three verticals — COVID-19 hospitals (for severe cases), health centres (moderate cases) and care centres (mild and asymptomatic cases) — and ramp it up, if necessary. Asymptomatic patients can be accommodated in health centres or care centres.

Source: The Hindu June 22, 2020 18:16 UTC