Tamil Nadu government for genome sequencing as active Covid cases increase

Chennai, March 6 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu Public Health department will soon be conducting whole genome sequencing as the number of active Covid cases in the state has touched 100.

While the department said that there was no need for any panic, the whole genome sequencing is being done as per the standard Covid protocol to find out if any new variant has been active and if any uncommon variant is identified.

Tamil Nadu State Public Health Department director, Dr. Sampath in a statement said that public has been very negligent on the safety measures and that the usage of masks, safe distancing and regular washing of hands have not been done for quite some time.

He said that testing will be increased and that several people in the age group of 18-45 have been lethargic in taking booster doses and this could also be the reason for a surge in cases.

An increase in the Covid cases has been reported in Chennai, Coimbatore, Chengalpattu and Kanniyakumari districts of Tamil Nadu. The state health department has also found that there is a slight increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in other districts as well.