A 63-year-old man who landed at the Tiruchi International Airport late on Sunday night tested positive for COVID-19.
The patient was admitted to the special ward for international travellers at the Tiruchi Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital early on Monday morning and his test samples have been sent for genome sequencing to identify the variant of virus.
Health officials said the man hails from Mayiladuthurai and has slight symptoms. “We are treating him for the symptoms and will continue to monitor his well being,” an official said.
The patient’s samples have been sent to Chennai, from where they would be directed to INSACOG (Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics) laboratories in Bengaluru or Pune to determine the variant.
Samples were taken from a patient who arrived on a flight from Singapore on December 3. His results are yet to arrive.
