In what has become fresh trouble for health authorities in Chennai in their efforts to contain what would possibly be another wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, two people in Chennai had gone missing after they tested positive for the viral infection and the authorities have initiated the process of finding them to mitigate the cluster formation. 

What more could trouble them is that these two people had tested positive for the pandemic at the Koyambedu Wholesale Market Complex (KWMC). They hadn't provided correct contact details during the RT-PCR test, which later confirmed that they had contracted the viral infection. The development has come when the state is reporting a steady surge in the COVID-19 cases, which had sparked speculations over whether the state will be imposed with another episode of lockdown to curb the spread. 

Koyambedu market is one of the largest wholesale markets in Tamil Nadu and last year, the market had become the largest cluster of COVID-19 cases following which the government had closed the complex and shifted the market to an alternative place. Amid the lockdown last year, the government had faced the biggest challenge in containing the Koyambedu cluster which had emerged many clusters and hotspots across the state and it was one of the important reasons why the cases in the state surged. 

As COVID-19 makes a resurgence in the state and across the country, most of the states have been rolling out fresh guidelines and implementing curfews to contain the spread and the Tamil Nadu government has been increasing the tests and measures at a high time when the state is three weeks ahead of the crucial assembly polls. The health authorities had carried out testing in major places which would attract a huge crowd.

The authorities had carried out RT-PCR testing in the Koyambedu market complex and two individuals had tested positive for the viral infection. When the authorities tried to trace them, they found that both the individuals had given wrong contact details and as they couldn't able to trace these individuals, the Greater Chennai Corporation had lodged a police complaint to trace these two individuals. 

According to a corporation official, around 300 to 400 people have been getting tested at the Koyambedu market every day and these two individuals were found to be positive for COVID-19. However, they hadn't given the correct contact details and their phones were also switched off. The verification of records had shown that the two individuals had given the Koyambedu market as their address. 

Following the development, the civic body is staying vigil on tracing the contacts and the corporation will now ask every person being tested at the Koyambedu market to disclose their identity cards for contact tracing and as far as load workers are concerned, they have to give the shop number where they are employed as they won't be having identity cards and the number of individuals subjected to random tests will be increased by 200 every day. 

The Tamil Nadu government is gearing up for the measures to contain another wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and on Tuesday, Chief Secretary Rajeev Ranjan had held a virtual meeting with the district collectors and directed them to impose a fine for people who are not wearing masks at public places. The Chief Secretary had asked the district administrations to take appropriate disease control measures. 

According to the state health department, Tamil Nadu has reported 8,61,429 cases so far as of Tuesday including 867 fresh cases that were reported on Tuesday. Of these total cases, 5,450 are active, 8,43,423 cases have been discharged while 12,556 had succumbed to the viral infection.