The central region saw no positive cases for the third consecutive day, bringing relief to health officials across the districts. The drop in cases is due to regular testing and follow-up of patients and contacts, officials say.
S. Sivarasu, Tiruchi District Collector, said that contact tracing of all positive patients has helped control the spread of the virus. Doctors working with the Department of Health, women self-help groups who took part in door-to-door surveys, sanitary workers in containment areas have all ensured the control, he said. The Collector said that the nine patients who are undergoing treatment at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH) too, are recuperating well and would be ready to be discharged by the end of the week, he said.
With the help of officials of the Revenue Department, 590 contacts of the 39 people who tested positive after travelling to New Delhi in March were traced and tested. R. Yeganathan, Medical Superintendent, MGMGH, said that there were no cases with questionable histories. “All our positive cases are either primary sources or immediate contacts. We can be assured that there has been no community spread in Tiruchi,” he said.
In Ariyalur District, testing was divided into three phases – testing of primary sources, their contacts and high-risk workers such as police personnel. “We traced 664 of them and have tested all including doctors, nurses, police personnel and conservancy workers,” N. Ramesh, Resident Medical Officer, Ariyalur District Headquarters Hospital said.
At the Pudukottai Government Medical College Hospital, tests were conducted twice for all potential cases. A 23-year-old man is the only positive patient in the district, and he is the son of a man who travelled to New Delhi to attend the single-source event. “We had traced the contacts and had placed all of them on home quarantine. At the end of one round of testing, although the man did not test positive, his son did. Another round was done to ensure that nobody else had been infected,” AL. Meenakshi Sundaram, Dean, PGMCH said.
In Perambalur district, several secondary contacts have been home quarantined. “A policeman tested positive here nearly a week ago. Along with his family members and policemen from his station, we have also admitted some of their family members’ contacts to the isolation ward at the Perambalur Government Headquarters Hospital. Tests have been taken and the results are awaited,” a senior health official in Perambalur said.
