NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, APRIL 15
Two men died of COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday and 38 more people were tested positive, taking the total number of coronavirus cases in the State to 1,242, Health Minister C Vijayabaskar said.
Kids shd be aware what’s happening around them. Explain #Covid19 inception,rapid spread,containment, role of govt,frontliners.Involve them in simple tasks, cleaning, organising home,cooking.Together, read a book, watch a movie, it’s all fun. Make best use of the time, #StayHome pic.twitter.com/3IbzBvNJMF
— Dr C Vijayabaskar – Say No To Drugs & DMK (@Vijayabaskarofl) April 15, 2020
Total number of deaths in the State now stands at 14 and the new virus cases reported today in Tamil Nadu was only a little more than yesterday’s tally of 31, unlike higher numbers seen earlier in the week. The state had reported 98 fresh cases on Monday and 106 on Sunday.
The mortality rate in Tamil Nadu yesterday was “0.9 per cent and today it is 1.1 per cent and it is under control,” the minister said.
A 47-year-old man with Severe Acute Respiratory Infection, who also tested positive for coronavirus, died at the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital here and a 59 -year-old man who was in the intensive care unit of a private hospital also succumbed to the illness caused by the contagion, the minister told reporters.
Of the fresh 38 positive cases, 34 were infected from the “single source,” he said an apparent reference to an event held last month in Delhi.
Three others had a contact history and another was a doctor pursuing post graduation, he said.
“There is no community spread and this has been ensured as the state has a robust public health system,” the minister asserted.
A baby delivered by a woman in the Thanjavur Government Medical College hospital has not tested positive, he said.
So far 21,994 samples have been tested and 37 people have been discharged today, he said.
A government bulletin said Chennai district has 214 cases, the highest in Tamil Nadu as on date followed by Coimbatore (126) and Tirupur (79).
There are 3,371 ventilators and 29,074 isolation beds in the State.
Rebutting DMK chief M K Stalin’s criticism that more precautionary measures, including in areas like availability of ventilators and labs- should have been taken, the minister said the government acted soon after the outbreak of the contagion in China.
The government procured required drugs in advance in January itself by earmarking Rs 146 crore and the State’s clinical management of virus cases has won appreciation, he said.
As soon as the first case was detected in Kerala on January 30, the State procured Personal Protective Equipment including N-95 respirators, the minister said.
Also, the government made ”bulk purchase” of Personal Protective Equipment, N-95 respirators and other type of masks like “three layer masks,” for about Rs 204.85 crore, he said, adding “we have adequate stocks and even additional inventory.”
“Tamil Nadu now has 26 labs (to test for coronavirus) which is the maximum in the whole of India,” he said.
A single lab in a government medical college has the capacity to test 270 samples in a day while a private facility could test 100 samples, the minister said.
Totally, “We have the capacity to test 5,320 samples per day,” he added.
Of the 26 labs, 16 are in government and 10 in private sector, the minister added.
