Tamil Nadu lawmaker dies from Covid-19 as cases in Indian state soar

Tamil Nadu politician J. Anbazhagan died from Covid-19 on his 62nd birthday yesterday, after a week on ventilator support. The state leader is the first Indian lawmaker to succumb to the disease.

He was admitted to the Dr Rela Institute and Medical Centre in Chennai, the state's capital, on June 2 after testing positive for Covid-19. Within a few days, his cardiac function dropped and his critical condition was made worse by a chronic kidney disease.

Local reports indicate that Mr Anbazhagan, a popular leader from the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party, was infected by the coronavirus while distributing relief materials in Chennai, which accounts for more than half of the confirmed cases in the state.

His death comes as the state recorded the third-highest number of Covid-19 cases in India. Tamil Nadu has almost 35,000 cases, with Tuesday seeing a record 1,685 cases. Over 300 people have died.

Its Directorate of Health, however, found yesterday that hospitals did not report 236 Covid-19 deaths. When added, the state's fatality rate reached 1.5 per cent compared with the 0.7 per cent reported by officials.

The state has been recording 1,000 to 1,600 cases a day for a week now.

This has surprised many experts.

Tamil Nadu has expansive healthcare facilities, a doctor-patient ratio of 4:1,000 that is higher than the World Health Organisation's minimum of 1:1,000, and a strong public health bureaucracy that pioneered HIV/Aids control.

Yet, it has been overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic.

"A major factor is Tamil Nadu's contact tracing is not rigorous enough and testing was not systematic until late May," said Dr T. Sundararaman, a public health expert.

Even after the nationwide lockdown and suspension of air, train and bus travel, the state tested only cases with travel history and direct contact with Covid-19 patients.

Only from late May did it begin to test people with Covid-19 symptoms.

But it still does not test patients suspected of having died from the disease. This leads to a misleadingly low death rate, and no tracing of the contacts of the dead patients.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami said on Monday that 86 per cent of the state's cases have been found to be asymptomatic. Experts say this means the right people are not being tested.

The government blames the rising number of cases in Chennai on the Tablighi Jamaat members who returned from Delhi, migrant workers returning from the Middle East and shoppers at the Koyambedu vegetable market.

But virologist Jacob John said: "The government just focuses on drastic geographical containment and lockdowns. It sees the pandemic not as a public health issue but as a law and order issue."

The police said nearly 570,000 people have been charged with lockdown violations in the state. Experts said measures, such as a 7pm to 7am curfew, installing barriers to prevent vehicle movement and a sudden three-day lockdown that sent hoarders rushing to the market, were ineffective.

They asked the government to focus more on changing behaviour through constant education.

"Promote 100 per cent mask-wearing. Most deaths have been of people with comorbidities - so reduce mortality by quarantining vulnerable groups," said Dr John.

Dr Sundararaman added: "Involve village councils, health workers and community volunteers for disease surveillance."

Yesterday, the state's Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar asked private hospitals to add more beds and medical workers.