TIRUCHI
A 60-year-old man who returned from Chennai tested positive for COVID-19 here on Friday. The man had been working at the Koyambedu market in Chennai and returned to his hometown in Tiruchi after the market closed.
The patient has been admitted to the Tiruchi Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital where he is undergoing treatment, officials here said. Along with him, 11 other patients hailing from Tiruchi are at the MGMGH. The hospital is taking care of 37 patients, including nine from Ariyalur, 14 from Perambalur and two from Pudukottai.
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Senior officials at the Tiruchi GH said that while samples were lifted from about 190 traders at random from the G. Corner temporary wholesale market, results have returned negative for all.
Collector S. Sivarasu requested those returning from other districts and states to get in touch with health officials and get themselves tested for the infection. They must also self-isolate themselves for at least 14 days, he said.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Sivarasu distributed rations including rice, pulses and wheat flour worth ₹1,250 to 390 contract workers who work as support staff at the Tiruchi GH. He requested them to stay safe, wear facemasks at all times and wash their hands regularly.
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Mr. Sivarasu also visited the testing facility set up at the K.A.P. Viswanatham Government Medical College and enquired about its functioning with the lab technicians and professors. S. Dhanapal, Head, Department of Microbiology had demonstrated the methodology of testing in the presence of Dean. K. Vanitha and A. Subramani, Deputy Director of Health Services.
In Ariyalur district, 424 new people arrived from outside the district on Friday and have been kept in 12 facilities set up by the district administration. Throat swabs have been lifted for all the 424 and 139 others. Of the total 563 tests results which are awaited, 309 have been sent to the Tiruchi testing centre while 254 have been set to the newly established testing centre in Ariyalur itself.
In Thanjavur, a man from Kumbakonam who was being treated at the Thanjavur Government Medical College Hospital was discharged on Friday after tests showed that he had recovered from the infection.
A total of 44 of the total 65 people who had tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered and returned home from the hospital, officials here said. Meanwhile, 20 patients are undergoing treatment and are all in stable health. District Collector M. Govinda Rao applauded the patient, handed over a food hamper consisting of biscuits and other nutritious food sponsored by The Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology here.
The Collector requested people suffering from cold, fever and cough to visit the nearest Primary Healthcare Centre. He said that results of 421 samples were awaited.