Amid witnessing an unprecedented wave of Covid spread, the Tamil Nadu people had taken a note of relief on Friday - January 14 that the soaring pattern of Covid cases will begin to decrease during the first week of February. The development has come when Tamil Nadu has recorded more than 20,000 Covid cases on Thursday for the first time in several months with active cases breaching 1 lakh cases. 

Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan has made a prediction that the cases will see a downtrend after January. On Friday, he said that the Covid-19 spread will begin to decrease in two weeks in Tamil Nadu and added that only 7% of the total caseload need hospitalization. On the front of imposing lockdown, the state government has been asserting that the complete lockdown won't be imposed in Tamil Nadu and made repeated appeals to the people to adhere to the guidelines and receive vaccinations. 

His assertion has come when the government has been tightening the guidelines and protocols in its mission of curbing the pandemic. Recently, the government has increased the fine amount for the people who violate the mask mandate.  The surge in the penalty amount has come when Chennai has been contributing majorly to the total caseload in Tamil Nadu. The health department has announced that the people who are found not wearing a mask will be fined Rs 500. 

The penalty has been revised under the rules of the Tamil Nadu Public Health Act, 1939. The order was issued by health secretary J Radhakrishnan and the same has been published in the state gazette on Wednesday. The people who fail to wear the masks properly will also be brought under the ambit of violation and will be fined. The Tamil Nadu government has also been ramping up the vaccination drive to cover more people and Chief Minister MK Stalin has asserted that his administration will stand with and support the Centre's measures in battling the pandemic. 

As per the media release by the health department, Tamil Nadu has reported 20,911 fresh Covid-19 cases, 6,235 discharges, and 25 deaths on Thursday- January 13. It is the first time in several months that the daily case count has breached the 20,000 mark. Overall, the state has recorded 28,68,500 cases so far as of Thursday of which 1,03,610 are active, 27,27,960 were recovered, and 36,930 had succumbed to the viral infection. Of the 20,911 fresh cases on Thursday, Chennai has reported 8,218 cases.