As many as 29 personnel attached to the Naval Air Station -- INS Parundu -- in Mandapam, in the district tested positive for COVID-19 here on Thursday, said District Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao.
Mr. Rao said that 102 personnel from different States had returned to work at INS Parundu during this week. On arrival, they were all quarantined and subjected to the mandatory swab test for COVID-19.
The results, which came on Thursday, indicated that 29 had tested positive. They have all been admitted for treatment at the COVID Care Centre in Mandapam, while the rest of the 73 personnel would continue to be under quarantine.
A team of doctors from the Department of Health and Family Welfare were monitoring their progress, the Collector added.
When asked about the rise in the number of COVID-19 positive cases, Mr. Rao said that for the next fortnight, the numbers were likely to look upward as officials have started testing at random. More samples have been taken in the last one week, and people from other districts were also coming in large numbers. The objective of the Ramanathapuram district administration was to maximise -- tracing, testing and treating, he added.
