Of the 49 cases of COVID-19 reported in Tamil Nadu on Saturday, Tiruppur alone accounted for 28, while Chennai recorded seven. There were four cases in Tenkasi, three each in Dindigul and Perambalur, two in Tirunelveli and one each in Thanjavur and Coimbatore. All these patients were contacts of persons who had tested positive earlier, Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar said.
With seven new cases, Chennai’s tally stood at 235, followed by Coimbatore with 128 and Tiruppur with 108.
The Minister said the recovery rate in T.N. was among the highest in the country. The total number of testing facilities had increased to 31, including 21 in the government sector and 10 in the private sector. The Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, the Thoothukudi Medical College Hospital, the National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai and the Institute of Vector Control and Zoonoses, Hosur were among the institutions that had been approved for testing, he said.
“We have automated RNA extraction equipment at the Public Health Laboratory. This was received from the Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University. It has the capacity to test up to 1,000 samples a day. We had placed orders for four pieces of automated RNA extraction equipment, of which the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital has received one,” he said.
The Minister added that by testing persons with Influenza-Like Illness in containment zones and those with severe acute respiratory infection, the authorities were ensuring that they were not missing anyone.
He said the Indian Council of Medical Research had given the preliminary approval for convalescent plasma therapy, and the State was awaiting the final nod. In the meantime, studies on prevention and drugs had been initiated at the Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University, he added.
As of date, 23,702 persons were under active home quarantine, and were being monitored using an application, the Minister said.
