Tamil Nadu witnessed another surge in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases on April 3. A total of 102 persons tested positive for COVID-19 , of which 100 were linked to the Tablighi Jamaat conference held in Nizamuddin in Delhi. With this, the total COVID-19 count in the State is 411.
“Of the total 411 COVID-19 cases in T.N., 364 were connected to the Nizamuddin conference. A total of 1,103 persons, who had attended the conference, are already with us, and a few more have reported. The number has reached close to 1,200. Apart from the 364 who have tested positive, 303 have tested negative, and a few samples are under process,” Health Secretary Beela Rajesh told reporters.
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Of the 100 patients, one of them — a resident of Chennai — had a history of contact with persons who attended the conference. Thirty two persons from Chennai, 26 from Dindigul, 10 from Villupuram, six persons from Tirunelveli, five each from Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur, four from Tuticorin, three each from Namakkal and Karur, two from Salem and one each from Kancheepuram, Theni and Virudhunagar — all participants of the conference — have tested positive, and are in the isolation wards of hospitals.
The remaining two were residents of Chennai — one of them with a travel history to the U.S., and another person with co-morbid conditions. The health department was looking into the details of the latter, she said.
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Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar said the majority of persons who had attended the Nizamuddin conference and have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last three days, were asymptomatic. “We checked with the neighbouring States that have reported positive cases among those who had travelled to Nizamuddin. It seems that at least 40% of these persons, who have tested positive across the country, are asymptomatic. Nevertheless, we will have to study this aspect,” he said.
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Though they were asymptomatic, the department has explained to them that they have to stay in the isolation wards of hospitals to prevent transmission to their family members and community, he said, adding: “We are planning to study the virus strain. We need to understand if immunity levels of individuals play a role, and look at the virulence of the virus.”
He added that the condition of all patients, including a 10-month-old baby and a 73-year-old woman who had tested positive earlier, was stable.
