A total of 218 persons tested positive for COVID-19 here on Saturday taking the total count to 1,703. With this, Madurai climbed to the fourth position among the 37 districts in terms of the highest number of cases.
A total of 10 deaths were recorded here. While seven patients who died were from Madurai, one was from Virudhunagar, one from Sivaganga and another from Dindigul.
Of the seven from Madurai, two patients died despite having no comorbidities.
A 37-year-old man who did not have any comorbidities was admitted to the Government Rajaji Hospital on June 24 at 4 p.m. He died five hours later at 9.30 p.m. A 29-year-old female who was admitted on June 21 died on June 25. Both these patients without comorbidities suffered Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and COVID-19 pneumonia.
Apart from them, a 38-year-old woman with hypertension and chronic kidney disease who was admitted on June 24 died two days later. A 63-year-old woman with diabetes was admitted on June 17 and the patient died the same day. A 66-year-old man who was admitted on June 24 also died the same day. A 73-year-old man who was admitted on June 26 also died on the same day. A 62-year-old man with diabetes and hypertension died on June 24 after being admitted on June 23. Apart from their comorbidities, they also suffered ARDS and COVID-19 pneumonia.
The patient from Virudhunagar was a 37-year-old man with chronic kidney disease. He was admitted on June 22. He died on June 26. A 63-year-old patient from Dindigul who suffered from Coronary Artery Disease apart from diabetes and hypertension was admitted on June 25 and died the next day. Another 67-year-old patient from Sivaganga with hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease and Coronary Artery Disease was admitted on June 19 and died on June 25. All of them died due to their comorbidities as well as ARDS and COVID-19 pneumonia according to the bulletin.
There are 1,135 active cases in the district and 28 discharges.
Virudhunagar
After recording 155 COVID-19 positive cases in the last one week, Virudhunagar district on Saturday registered no fresh positive case. However, death rose to five with the death of a 37-year-old man from the district at Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai on Friday.
However, with a total of 170 patients from the district having discharged from various hospitals, the number of active patients came down from 152 to 138 on Saturday.
The total number positive cases in the district is 313.
Ramanathapuram
Ramanathapuram, for the first time, crossed the 100 mark on a single day, with 102 persons testing positive. The total positive cases went up to 648 from 546. District Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao said that 30% of the cases were from people who had travel history, while 40 % had contracted the infection through contacts with people who had arrived from hotspots and the rest of them were tested by the health authorities at random and they were found to be positive. A total of 14 persons were discharged today.
Theni
In Theni district 36 persons tested positive including 22 men. The officials said that Cumbum had the highest COVID-19 positive cases with 10 persons followed by Periakulam, Andipatti, Bodinayakkanur and Myladumparai respectively. Collector Pallavi Baldev said that they have stepped up the testing for COVID-19 virus. Four persons were discharged from the hospital.
Dindigul
In Dindigul, the number of persons who tested positive stood at 25 taking the total positive cases to 369. According to Collector M. Vijayalakshmi, they have intensified checks at check-posts and only genuine cases were being issued e-pass. There was no discharge from the hospital.
Sivaganga
In Sivaganga, 27 persons tested positive which took the number of total patients to 157. Collector J. Jayakanthan maintained that most of the patients had travel history or had contacts with COVID-19 positive people. Elaborate arrangements have been taken to enhance the number of beds at the Government Hospital. As many as 71 patients were discharged from the hospital so far.
Southern region
While Thoothukudi recorded 43 COVID-19 positive cases, all indigenous cases, on Saturday, Kanniyakumari district added 34 more including 32 indigenous cases.
Thoothukudi district, which is witnessing a sharp rise in number of cases over the past two weeks, had 43 new cases on Saturday. A total of 40 patients were discharged from the Thoothukudi Medical College Hospital, where 292 active patients are undergoing treatment.
Though two patients who were undergoing treatment in other wards of the hospital died on Saturday, hospital authorities said both the patients tested negative for the viral infection.
As the viral infection is spreading rapidly in Thoothukudi, the Corporation ordered closure of all teashops in the town until further orders.
“While a teashop owner near St. Antony’s Church on Victoria Extension Road tested positive for the viral infection, two more teashops near Hotel Sugam were closed after a village assistant, who visited the shops, tested positive for COVID -19. Moreover, we’re getting complaints regularly from the public on the huge number of people gathering in the teashops without physical distancing. Hence, the closure of all teashops has been ordered,” said V.P. Jayaseelan, Corporation Commissioner.
Kanniyakumari is now witnessing sudden spurt in influx of new cases and it added 34 more cases on Saturday. With this, the tally went up to 304 and active cases to 175.
However, Tenkasi and Tirunelveli districts had only 11 and 12 new cases on Saturday that took the districts’ tally to 303 and 723 respectively. These two districts have 192 and 205 active cases.
