Six more persons, all residents of Chennai, tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, the highest number of cases reported in a single day so far. This takes the total number of cases to 18 in the State.
Among those who have tested positive in the State is a couple, and a 55-year-old woman and her son, according to Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar.
He took to Twitter to declare the six new positive cases of COVID-19 — five of them with a travel history to a foreign country, and the one with a contact history.
A 74-year-old man, who returned from the US, is admitted to the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital. He was a resident of Porur.
A 52-year-old woman, who travelled from the US and is a resident of Purasawalkam, is also admitted to the isolation ward of Stanley Hospital. The third patient, a 25-year-old man, a resident of Keelkattalai, had returned from Switzerland and is at the Government Kilpauk Medical College (KMC) Hospital.
A 65-year-old man, who returned from New Zealand, is admitted to a private hospital, while a 55-year-old woman, a resident of Saidapet, is undergoing treatment at KMC.
A 25-year-old man, who returned from London, has also tested positive and is admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.
Contacts established
On Monday, a 55-year-old resident of Madurai had tested positive and is undergoing treatment at the Government Rajaji Hospital, Madurai.
Though he had no history of travel, the Minister said that they have established his contact with tourists from Thailand, two of whom had tested positive and are currently admitted at IRT, Perundurai in Erode.
“Our team has traced his contact with the Thailand nationals. Similarly, the 55-year-old woman from Saidapet has no travel history to an affected country but her son had recently returned from London and has tested positive,” he said.
Condition stable
“The condition of all patients is stable. The patient in Madurai is a high risk person as he has Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease for 10 years, and diabetes and hypertension,” he added.
He added that an expert team of doctors have decided the treatment protocol based on the guidelines from the Centre. It was a combined drug therapy, and patients were receiving symptomatic and supportive treatment.
Officials of the Health department have traced a total of 108 contacts for the couple who had travelled from the US to Chennai via Singapore.
For the 25-year-old resident of Purasawalkam, who had returned from London and is at RGGGH, they have traced a total of 23 contacts. He had travelled from London to Bengaluru airport, and then to Chennai via car.
They have narrowed down on 185 persons who had come in contact with the 48-year-old resident of Tirupur. He had travelled from the UK to Coimbatore. Fifty one contacts were traced for the 55-year-old man in Madurai.
They have traced 149 contacts for the 52-year-old woman who travelled from the US to Chennai via London, and 41 contacts for 25-year-old woman from Keelkatalai who travelled from Switzerland to Delhi. She had then visited her mother’s house in Medavakkam.
The number of persons admitted to isolation wards increased from 89 to 116. This included 25 persons at Thanjavur Medical College, 19 at Salem Medical College, 11 at IRT Perundurai, nine at Karur Medical College and eight each at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital and Coimbatore Medical College.
The number of persons under home quarantine went up to 15,298. Chennai accounted for the largest number of persons under home quarantine at 4,844. The number of samples also increased from 552 to 743. Of this, 120 samples were under process.
