In the midst of battling the horrendous second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and bracing up the severity of the spread, Tamil Nadu is driving through the possibility of witnessing a peak of the pandemic spread as Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan has shockingly revealed that the state may see a peak of COVID-19 by the end of this month. 

He deeply pressed the people to adhere to the government guidelines to slow the spread and break the chain of transmission. While addressing the reporters on Thursday, Radhakrishnan said, "Tamil Nadu has been recording 35,000 cases every day on an average. Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, and Delhi have already reached the peak. The population in Kerala and Karnataka is less than the population of Tamil Nadu and so the cases in Tamil Nadu may see a peak on May 29 or May 30, as Tamil Nadu is two weeks behind these states."

He stated, "The lockdown has been imposed in Tamil Nadu to cut the transmission chain. If other states had witnessed a drop in new COVID-19 infections, it is because people there offered their support  to the government by staying indoors." "The rate at which the infection was spreading from 25,000 to 30,000 within a day, has reduced now. 

There are indications in some districts that the virus spread is declining but in some districts, it is not", he added. He further said, "People should fully utilize the lockdown to break the chain and people should respect the guidelines by staying indoors if a place has been announced as a containment zone." 

The Health Secretary also said that the state government has declared Mucormycosis or a black fungus infection as a notifiable disease. By citing that the state has reported nine cases of fungus infection so far, he stated the government has formed a committee to study and initiate the measures to tackle the outbreak. 

He said that of these nine cases, seven are diabetic and all the patients are stable. He had warned the people living in districts like Chennai, Coimbatore, Erode, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Tuticorin, Erode, and Tiruppur to exercise caution and adhere to the lockdown rules. 

On Thursday, Tamil Nadu has reported 35,579 fresh COVID-19 cases, 14,52,283 discharges, and 397 deaths. Overall, Tamil Nadu has recorded 17,34,804 COVID-19 cases so far as of Thursday of which 2,63,390 are active, 14,52,283 have been discharged, and 19,131 had succumbed to the viral infection.