CHENNAI: Some districts need more time for fresh cases to fall, while a few others need time to increase oxygen and ICU beds.
Over the last week, officials have been brainstorming on whether relaxations can be given to a few districts where the health system is no longer “overwhelmed”.
Here are some of the factors that officials said they considered while drafting unlock strategies Load in hospitals: High bed occupancy in hospitals forced the state to keep some districts under lockdown.
Almost all districts have reached the numerical peak in new cases, but 14 districts continue to report at least 100 cases more than they did at the start of lockdown on May 11.
Salem, for instance, reported 1,187 new cases on Friday, which is 712 cases more than on May 11 (475).
But public health officials say the district is already showing signs of recovery.
The district reported its highest number of 1,492 new cases on May 29 and has been reporting a decline since.
On Saturday, Salem reported 1,171 new cases.
Other western districts such as Erode and Tirupur along with central districts Thanjavur and Namakkal are also reporting fewer cases.
“While cases in communities in these districts have decreased, the bed occupancy in hospitals is still high,” said health secretary J Radhakrishnan.
“We have to continue lockdown in these areas to reap complete benefits,” he said.
Positivity rate: The state has been testing an average of 1.7 lakh people every day between May 22-28 and May 29-June 3.
During the period, the overall test positivity rate (TPR) in the state dropped from 20.1% to around 16%.
Barring seven – Perambalur, Nagapattinam, the Nilgiris, Ariyalur, Karur, Salem and Sivagangai – all districts reported a drop in TPR.
The sharpest drop was in Chengalpet, where TPR fell from 26% last week to 14% this week.
The district on June 4 reported 909 cases.
This was 1,510 cases fewer than on May 11.
On Saturday, fresh cases further dropped to 862.
Tiruvannamalai, Tirupattur and Chennai also reported a steep drop in TPR.
The TPR in Chennai, which reported 1,789 cases on Saturday, is 8.1%.
Kancheepuram and Madurai are at 7.5% and 7.9% – lowest in the state.
Increase in beds: The state added more oxygen beds across districts during the lockdown.
As a result, the waiting time for a bed has also come down in many districts.
This, officials say, was one of the key factors that influenced lockdown relaxations.
On May 21, in the midst of the lockdown, the state said it had 50,807 oxygen and ICU beds.
On Friday, there were at least 10,000 more such beds.
“We have increased our bed capacity and will continue to do so even when there is decline in cases,” said director of public health Dr R Narayanababu.
Number of deaths: Since Friday, deaths reported daily have started declining, but the weekly average of deaths is around 473 compared to 454 last week.
Experts have told the state that like cases, deaths will also peak in different districts at different times.