The State Health department is yet to ascertain the source of infection for the 20-year-old youth, who had no travel history to an affected country but travelled from Delhi to Chennai and tested positive in the city on March 18. But the department has traced and quarantined 163 persons who had come in contact with him.
“We are yet to identify the source of infection. It is still a big challenge for us,” Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar told reporters on Friday. The youth, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, tested positive for COVID-19 while he was in the isolation ward of Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH). Officials said that though he did not have travel history to an affected country, he was tested as he came from Delhi and had symptoms.
“We have traced and quarantined 163 of his contacts, and 94 contacts of the 21-year-old MBA student, who had travelled from Ireland to Chennai and tested positive for COVID-19. Tracing the contact history of these patients and quarantining them is definitely a challenging task for the department,” he said. These contacts included co-passengers, family, friends, neighbours, and people from the places they visited and stayed.
The Minister added that the department has shared the train details of the second patient and flight details of the third patient with other States. He added that they had readied flow charts on the movement of the two patients and this would be released for the public, if the need arises. “If we are unable to track all their contacts, we will definitely release the flow charts for the public,” he said.
Hundred ambulances have been earmarked to transport patients suspected to have symptoms of COVID-19, and those with travel history with symptoms of COVID-19. “These ambulances will not be utilised for other patients. These vehicles are making 22 to 25 trips per day. This shows that people who have travelled to affected countries are voluntarily reporting,” he said.
To a question on the State’s preparedness for the coming weeks including intensive care facilities, he said, “We have placed orders for 500 more ventilators, and are increasing the beds including in intensive care units, and have requested private hospitals too. We are strengthening facilities at the district headquarters hospitals.”
He said the department’s helpline 104 was receiving 400 to 500 calls per day asking for dos and don’ts for COVID-19.
The Minister appealed to the public to avoid unnecessary travel. “The Chief Minister has declared holiday for all educational institutions and ordered closure of large commercial establishments. But during my visit to the Central Railway Station and bus terminals we could see plenty of movement of people. This is worrying,” he said.
Noting that this was a serious issue, he urged people not to go into “holiday mood” but have a sense of fear. “There is no community spread till now in TN but we are worried. This is why we are taking many measures. It is time people practised social distancing,” he added. He said that persons arriving from affected countries have to cooperate with officials to be under a day’s quarantine and this was mandated by the Public Health Act.
3 more testing centres
The State has got three more testing centres for COVID-19. This takes the total number of laboratories to seven. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has approved the testing facilities at the government medical colleges in Coimbatore, Salem, and Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital. As on date, 32 patients were under observation at isolation wards in government medical college hospitals and 4,253 persons under follow-up. Of the 333 samples lifted for testing, 27 were under process. The remaining 303 samples have returned negative and three tested positive for COVID-19. A total of 1,98,741 passengers were screened at airports across the State.
Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar said that Tamil Nadu is all set to carry out “home quarantine” stamping on passengers. “We have obtained the approval for the stamping and the seal has been readied.” The stamp would mention that the person is under home quarantine and the date until he/she is supposed to be under home quarantine.
