As part of the initiative to put a stop to the spread of coronavirus cases in Chennai,Tamil Nadu's major hotspot, authorities have switched over to a new phenomenon by name Herd Masking. A group of officials led by Dr J Radhakrishnan, former secretary to the department of health who has been appointed recently as the special officer for tackling Covid-19 in Chennai are on a mission to mask the unmasked.
Those in containment areas in Chennai who come out of their houses without wearing face masks are issued masks by Radhakrishnan and his team of officials. “Our aim is to reduce the number of persons who are exposed to the virus spreading this pandemic. Over the last few days my team of officials have distributed more than two lakh face masks,” said Radhakrishnan.
Radhakrishnan, who is a veteran in fighting natural disasters and experienced in rescuing and rehabilitation of persons affected by tsunami, cyclones and floods want the wearing of mask to be made compulsory in the State. “It is possible for a coronavirus afflicted person to infect 10 persons and hence we should make it mandatory to wear face masks,” said Radhakrishnan.
Meanwhile political Tamil Nadu saw the fighting between the ruling AIADMK and the Opposition DMK reaching new heights. MK Stalin, president, DMK, alleged that Tamil Nadu Government has been left clueless in controlling the coronavirus pandemic.
“The Government has announced that the 10th Standard examination will be held from June 1. How is it possible to have the examination at this critical juncture? What is the need for conducting examination during the time of Covid-19,” asked Stalin in a release on Monday.
T R Balu, MP and DMK’s New Delhi face , said that the tranche of announcements made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman will not help in addressing the problems faced by the poor in the country.
“The announcements were meant for the rich and powerful strata of society. The Centre has mailed miserably in handling the coronavirus pandemic,” said Balu at Chennai.