Government ‘investigating’ COVID-19 patient in Tamil Nadu without foreign travel history

An instance of community transmission would put India in Stage 3 of WHO’s classification

Passengers use face masks as a preventive measure against the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) at Coimbatore railway station.

Health Ministry officials said they were still investigating the case of a person in Tamil Nadu, who had tested positive for

coronavirus (

COVID-19 ) and reportedly had no travel history to affected countries, nor contact with anyone who had

tested positive for the virus .

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“We have heard that he has no history of contact. But we are investigating further,” Raman Gangakhedkar, Senior Scientist, Indian Council for Medical Research, said at a Ministry briefing on Friday.

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Tamil Nadu recorded its second positive case of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus disease, COVID-19, on March 18. The person in question is a 20-year-old youth, who had travelled from Delhi to Chennai in a train, tested positive for COVID-19, and is in the isolation ward of Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH).

The government says that India is in Stage 2 of the outbreak, in that all Indians who have tested positive have a history of travel to affected countries or have been in contact with those who have so travelled. An instance of community transmission — someone who tests positive without any such link — would indicate widespread prevalence of the virus and put India in Stage 3 of the World Health Organisation’s classification and necessitate a different plan of action at containment or mitigation.

Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar tweeted on Wednesday that the patient’s condition was stable and he was under observation.

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A resident of Uttar Pradesh, he worked in a salon and reached Chennai on March 12. He was staying with a friend in the city and was in search of a job.