The Chennai Corporation has temporarily closed a furniture shop that falls under the Saravana stores banner in Purasawalkam after 39 of its employees tested positive for COVID-19. The shop will be reopened after the test results of all its employees are determined, based on which unaffected persons will be allowed to continue work.
According to the city corporation, of the 39 persons who tested positive, most of them stayed in a dormitory in the same building as the furniture store. The employees were found positive when the civic body conducted mass testing as part of its effort to tackle the spread of COVID-19.
"On Friday we were testing people in the store and of 166 persons 13 tested positive. On Saturday, another 26 tested positive of 159 people totally tested," says a health official involved in the civic body camp. "We closed the shop on Friday and it will remain shut temporarily till we can isolate those who have been infected," he adds.
The home appliance store is located on Kariappa Street. The road has now been barricaded on both ends and declared a containment zone. Residents on the street will also be tested and have been told to stay within their houses. But while travel has been ruled out as a cause for the spread, officials are yet to narrow down on the source.
While some of the employees are in home isolation, others have been admitted to the Communicable Diseases Hospital.
In March last year, even before the lockdown was announced, the city corporation had ordered for the closure of large stores to prevent the spread of the virus.
Tamil Nadu recorded 10,694 positive cases of COVID-19 on Sunday and amongst these, Chennai reported 3304 positive cases bringing the state tally to 9,91,451. Meanwhile 42 deaths were recorded on Sunday, putting the state's toll at 13,113.