Tamil Nadu reported 477 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday even as 939 persons were discharged after making a full recovery from hospitals across the State. The number of persons discharged was the highest on a single day in T.N., according to Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar.
The 477 new cases took the State’s tally to 10,585. With 332 fresh cases, Chennai’s total crossed the 6,000-mark. Three more persons died in the city, taking the total number of deaths in T.N. to 74. The number of samples tested during the day stood at 10,535.
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Nearly 20% of the new patients were people who had returned from other States and abroad, posing a new challenge for the State government, Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar said.
Four of them had returned from Dhaka, 81 from Maharashtra, seven from Gujarat and one from Andhra Pradesh, he said.
Listing out districts that have not reported new COVID-19 cases in a while, he said that Erode had no positive cases for 31 days, while Tiruppur had not reported new cases for 15 days. There has been no positive cases in Coimbatore for 13 days, Salem and Tiruvarur for 10 days, Namakkal and Nilgiris for seven days, Krishnagiri and Tirupattur for six days, Tiruchi for four days, Ariyalur for three days, and Karur and Ramanathapuram for two days.
“Specifically, districts such as Erode, Tiruppur, Coimbatore, Salem and Tiruvarur have managed well by tracing, testing and admitting patients and their contacts, and putting in place effective containment measures. But new challenges are emerging. There are representations to bring back people belonging to Tamil Nadu from other States and foreign countries. They should return to the State and the government’s stand is also the same. Yet, there are challenges at a time when we are taking steps to control the disease in many districts,” he said.
Referring to the case trend, he said that there was a peak in the number of cases on Monday when the State reported 798 cases, and it started to decline over the next few days, tapering to 384 (cases within Tamil Nadu) on Saturday. “Now, we are receiving people from abroad. Till now, nine flights have landed in Chennai and one in Tiruchi. A total of 13 persons who had returned in three flights have tested positive so far. Though the other passengers of the same flights tested negative, we are continuing to monitor them,” he said.
Samples were lifted from 849 persons who had arrived in a train from Delhi, and their results are awaited, he said.
“For instance, Sivaganga, that had no case for a while, has reported nine positive cases among persons who had returned from Maharashtra. We screened them at the checkpost. Similarly, 44 persons who arrived from Maharashtra tested positive in Tirunelveli on Saturday, resulting in an increase in the number of cases,” he said.
“We are taking steps to control disease transmission in the State. On one side, people flying back are testing positive, while on the other, those returning by train and road are also testing positive for the infection. This is a new challenge for the government at a time when the curve was flattening. We are testing all of them and are ensuring that they are being monitored,” he further said.
New cases
Chennai added 332 new cases, taking its tally to 6,271. There were 13 new cases in Chengalpattu, 10 in Tiruvallur, seven in Tiruvannamalai, four in Kancheepuram, three each in Kallakurichi and Madurai, two each in Dindigul, Nagapattinam and Villupuram, and one each in Kanniyakumari, Ranipet, Tenkasi, Thoothukudi, Vellore and Virudhunagar.
In addition, seven persons who returned from Gujarat tested positive in Dindigul, Ranipet and Thoothukudi. Among those who returned from Maharashtra, 44 tested positive in Tirunelveli, 14 in Kallakurichi, nine in Sivaganga, six in Thoothukudi, four in Tenkasi, and one each in Kanyakumari, Madurai, Ranipet and Theni. One person tested positive in Thanjavur after returning from Andhra Pradesh. All of them were screened at checkposts.
Three deaths
Three more persons who tested positive for COVID-19 died in the city.
A 65-year-old woman from Chennai was admitted at a private hospital on May 5 and died on May 11 due to community acquired pneumonia and respiratory illness. The second patient — a 55-year-old man — died at a private hospital on May 15 due to COVID pneumonia. He had old pulmonary tuberculosis and diabetes. A 78-year-old man with diabetes and systemic hypertension died at the Government Medical College Hospital, Omandurar Estate, on May 15 due to diabetic ketoacidosis, acute respiratory failure and COVID pneumonia.
With 939 persons being discharged from across the State, the total number of persons who have recovered so far stands at 3,538. The State has 6,970 active cases and 4,415 individuals suspected to have symptoms of COVID-19 in isolation wards.
The government has come up with micro plans to monitor the vulnerable population including the elderly and prevent mortality among them, he said, adding: “A 16-year-old girl who underwent heart and lung transplant had tested positive for COVID-19. She underwent treatment at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, and has been discharged,” he said.
With the per day testing numbers declining in the past few days, official sources said that symptomatic persons were now being tested as per Centre’s guidelines, and the number of contacts of positive patients were also limited now.
So far, the State has tested a total of 3,13,639 samples. One more testing facility in the government sector — the Government District Headquarters Hospital, Tiruvallur, and two more in the private sector — Royal Care Super Specialty Hospital, Coimbatore, and Sundaram Medical Foundation, Chennai — have been approved. With this, there are a total of 61 testing facilities in the State.
The Minister said that private hospitals were told to resume services during a video-conference held with 450 representatives on Friday. “We want all services including immunisation and antenatal care to resume. They have assured us that they will resume services and the government will support them,” he said.
