Six Zones in Chennai alone account for 72% of the city’s COVID-19 cases

Chennai on Tuesday, June 16, reported 941 COVID-19 positive cases taking the district tally to 34,245. This includes 15,257 active cases and 18,565 discharges. 422 persons have succumbed to the virus so far.

As on June 14, a whopping 72% of cases in the city are from only six zones including Tondiarpet (zone 4), Royapuram (5), Thiru Vi Ka Nagar (6), Anna Nagar (8), Teynampet (9) and Kodambakkam (10).

Of the six zones, Royapuram tops with the maximum number of cases — nearly 5,300.

Chief Minsiter Edappadi K Palanisamy on June 15 announced an intense lockdown in Chennai and parts of three neighbouring districts for 12 days starting June 19.

Health secretary J. Radhakrishnan said that the idea behind the lockdown for the entire city was to prevent cases from these zones spilling over to nearby areas and causing clusters of infection there. “There are people who are related or who work in North Chennai going back home, to say Tiruvallur, and transmitting the infection there. We need to control this.”

The intense lockdown will be in effect in Greater Chennai Police limits, Tiruvallur municipality, Gummidipoondi, Ponneri, Minjur town panchayats, and all panchayats of Poonamallee, Ekkadu and Cholavaram panchayat unions.