Chennai: As many as 86 per cent of Tamilnadu’s Covid-19 cases have been found to beĀ asymptomatic, and the lockdown and related curbs have helped keep the pandemicĀ under check, Chief Minister K Palaniswami said on Sunday.
In a statement detailing the various efforts taken to address the Covid-19 situation since February, he also said that the State’s mortality rate was theĀ Ā lowest when compared to even some foreign countries, besides other Indian states.
Tamilnadu, he said, also had the best recovery rate. However, DMK chiefĀ M K StalinĀ questioned Palaniswami’s statement and said the CM should not do ‘lip service’ but take proactive steps to contain the rapid spread of the pandemic in Chennai andĀ Ā added that the government should ascertain whether there was community transmissionĀ Ā in the city.
“While the pandemic has severely affected the State’s economy, various measuresĀ have been rolled out to put it back on track, and even some new investments haveĀ Ā been attracted as a result,” Palaniswami said.
As of Sunday, Tamil Nadu reported a total of 31,667 positive cases, including 269Ā deaths, while 16,999 people have been cured of the virus. “About 5.50 lakh testsĀ Ā have been conducted in Tamilnadu till 4 June, 2020. Through these tests we came toĀ Ā know that 86 per cent of corona-affected persons had no symptoms at all,”Ā Ā Palaniswami said.
Soon after the outbreak of coronavirus in China in January this year, the StateĀ government started acting from February itself, he said. Measures included checksĀ Ā at railway stations and airports, sealing of the borders and the governmentĀ Ā implementing the lockdown in March, he said and lauded the people for abiding byĀ Ā the curbs.
But for public support, the situation could have been worse, Palaniswami added. SoĀ far, the government has allocated over Rs 4,033 crore towards various effortsĀ Ā regarding COVID-19, even as the health infrastructure has been strengthened withĀ Ā measures, including appointment of more doctors and nurses, he said.