The sequel of major footfalls, densely crowded movements, and the lack of strict restrictions have equally contributed towards letting Koyambedu Market Complex in Chennai to emerge as the newest epicenter and hotspot for the spread of COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu, which has been witnessing the sharpest rise in the total number of the affected cases. 

The Koyambedu Wholesale Market Complex is one of the largest vegetable, fruit, and perishable goods markets not only in India but also in entire Asia. Based in Chennai, the market spread across nearly 300 acres and the premises of the complex have got used to endure massive footfalls as people from across and beyond the state would throng to the market to procure the perishable products, which have now let the complex to become as the epicenter for the human to human transmitting virus. 

Despite rolling out the preventive measures to contain the spread of the virus in Chennai, the Koyambedu market has become fresh and might be the biggest hotspot in the city and the state after most of the recently reported cases across the state had a direct connection to the market and it has unfortunately added more risks to the government on tracing the contact of the people who have scattered across the state. 

The market had reported its first case earlier last week and in a short period, more than 200 people across the state had tested positive for the virus and they were linked with direct or indirect connection with the market. Being reminiscent of how the large gatherings had given grounds of the rampant spread of the virus across India, the state authorities fear that the number of affected cases will witness a sharp increase in the coming days as more than thousand had visited the market in the past one month.

According to the reports, the affected patients have largely been spread across Chennai, Kancheepuram, Cuddalore, Tiruvallur, and Chengalpattu and the respective administrations are burdened to execute extensive tracing mechanism to trace the people who have visited the market recently. According to the vendors, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), which oversees the market, should have shifted the retail stores in the complex to different places once the lockdown was imposed on March 25.

However, both wholesale and retail markets kept open in the complex after the lockdown as most of the districts in the state depend on the market to procure vegetables and fruits daily making it one of the stable economic corridors for the state. When the state government imposed enhanced lockdown in five major corporations last week, the market had seen the absence of social distancing as thousands queued up in the market to pile up the vegetables and essentials. 

Finally, after the market reported its first COVID-19 case where a woman trader had contracted to the virus, Chennai Corporation and CMDA had wakened up and rolled out the restrictions to reduce the footfalls. The CMDA has directed to close all the retail vegetables, fruits, and flower shops in the complex and shifted it to the various places of the city such as Madhavaram and Aminjikarai and the complex has closed its doors for the retail trades by keeping the operations of the wholesale market open. 

However, the cases linked with the market have been surging across the state particularly in the northern districts and the officials of the Chennai corporation said that despite the tough task of tracing people, the efforts are being taken to identify the people who came in contact with positive patients. Cuddalore has been one of the worst-hit districts by the Koyambedu cluster and the district administration has now been placing the people who returned from Chennai under quarantine. 

The increase in cases has been attributed to the movements of the retail traders from the market to their home districts in the state after the market had shut down the retail operations. On Saturday, the market received nearly 15,000 visitors which is less than the usual number. As of Saturday, 18 people in Ariyalur, one in Perambalur, and one in Tiruvallur had tested positive for the virus and they have been affected by the Koyambedu cluster. On Monday, Cuddalore has reported 122 positive cases linked to the Koyambedu cluster and the district has currently kept over 700 people under quarantine.

The latest reports had raised speculations on whether the government is considering to shut down the entire operations of the Koyambedu market by shifting the wholesale trades to the alternative venues. Most of the districts had banned the movement of people to Koyambedu instead they are operating markets locally.