A total of 197 patients, 188 of them from Ariyalur district, tested positive for COVID-19 in the Central region on Wednesday. One patient hailed from Karur, three from Perambalur, two from Pudukottai and one each from Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Tiruchi districts.
Among the 188 patients in Ariyalur district was a one-year-old baby girl, and 38 women, all contacts of individuals who returned to the district along with 149 men, many of whom came to the district from Chennai where they had been working at the Koyambedu market. A 38-year-old doctor, an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist from Ariyalur District Headquarters Hospital has tested positive here. “He was exposed to the virus while treating patients,” sources here said.
Of the 188 patients, 20 had tested positive on Monday while the remaining 168 tested positive on Wednesday.
In Perambalur district, a 20-year-old pregnant woman, an 18-month-old male baby and another 35-year-old woman tested positive for the virus on Wednesday. The patients were tested at Ariyalur on their way back to their hometown in Perambalur and are all currently isolated at the Ariyalur GH. The pregnant woman and the baby will be shifted to the Tiruchi Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital, sources here said. Source of their infection is yet to be established, they said.
Collector V. Santha held a review meeting on Wednesday. She said a 300-bedded facility at the District Headquarters Hospital and a newly constructed Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board were available to handle patients. “Since the number of cases has gone up, the new relaxed norms of the lockdown would not be applicable. We will notify a total lockdown if necessary,” she said.
In Tiruchi district, a 23-year-old woman from Palakkarai tested positive at the Tiruchi Mahatma Gandhi Government Memorial Hospital. The woman is pregnant, due this month, and visited the hospital for a check-up when a test was taken and she tested positive. However, the source of the infection is not clear.
Meanwhile, five patients were discharged from the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital after recovery on Wednesday. Four hailed from Tiruchi while Pudukottai’s first positive patient, the son of a man who attended the single-source event in New Delhi and hailed from Mirattunilai, was also discharged.
So far, 47 patients of the 56 patients, who have tested positive from Tiruchi, have been sent home after recovery. The district administration has traced 309 people who returned to the city from Koyambedu in Chennai over the last week and has lifted test samples for all. Of them, six have tested positive while 302 patients have tested negative. However, they have all been placed under home quarantine for a period of 14 days.
A total of six patients from Tiruchi, nine form Ariyalur, 12 from Perambalur and two from Pudukottai are currently undergoing treatment at the MGMGH.
Collect S. Sivarasu urged citizens to follow lockdown norms, wear face masks and practice personal distancing. Unless there is a necessity, please do not go out, he said.
In Karur, 47-year-old man who returned from Mumbai, Maharashtra, where he was working tested positive . The patient is undergoing treatment at the Government Medical College Hospital here and is responding well to treatment.
Meanwhile, in Pudukottai district, two patients, a 60-year-old man and a 13-year-old girl, tested positive for the virus on Tuesday. The man hails from Lakshmi Nagar while the girl hails from Alangudi. Both have been admitted to the Tiruchi MGMGH for treatment.
The number of persons undergoing treatment for COVID-19 at the Tiruvarur Government Medical College hospital increased to 8 with one more person from Vilakudi hamlet near Thithuraipoondi tested positive on Wednesday.
According to sources, the infected person had returned to his native place recently from Chennai. In all, 32 persons from different parts of the district were found infected with the virus and out of them 24 have been discharged from the hospital after the results turned negative in three consecutive tests.
Meanwhile, Food Minister R.Kamaraj opened a special ward for men infected with COVID-19 virus, at the TGMC hospital on Monday. The 60-bed ward had been set up at a total cost of ₹60 lakhs.
In Thanjavur district, a 25-year-old man tested positive and is undergoing treatment at the Thanjavur Medical College Hospital, according to a media bulletin issued by the Health Department.
