NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, APRIL 19
After a week’s hiatus, Tamil Nadu reported 105 plus coronavirus cases, including 2 journalists, on Sunday, pushing up the total number of affected people to 1,477.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on the COVID-19 scenario and the latter sought more rapid test kits from the Centre to tackle the situation.
As many as 105 tested positive, all of whom were contacts, including two journalists and a Sub- Inspector. 46 people were discharged from various hospitals following recovery today and 411 overcame the illness, a government bulletin said. The death toll remains at 15 in Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, the State Health Minister C. Vijayabhaskar in a twitter message confirmed that a doctor Jayamohan, serving in tribal villages in Nilgiris passed away, but did not mention whether he died of Coronovirus.
Meanwhile, a 55-year old neurosurgeon of a private hospital in Chennai tested positive two weeks ago was passed away at Apollo Hospitals at Vanagaram due to cardiac arrest on Sunday. However, government sources did not confirm the death. Apart from this, unconfirmed reports said that two PG doctors practicing at Government Rajiv Gandhi General Hospital in Chennai were tested positive.
The journalists are a reporter with a Tamil daily and a sub-editor working for a Tamil news television channel. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke over phone to Chief Minister on the COVID-19 measures being pursued in Tamil Nadu, an official release here said.
Palaniswami explained the steps, including prevention treatment and testing being done and sought more rapid test kits to the State and “the Prime Minister said the kits will be provided,” the release added.
Till date 1,477 have been infected cumulatively while 1048 were the “active cases” as on date, it said. On April 12, Tamil Nadu reported 106 cases and the following day it was 98. Between April 14 and 18, the positive cases did not exceed 56. Authorities said testing people (as per guidelines which includes for instance, primacy in testing for people with influenza like illness) with rapid test kits to ascertain antibodies for the virus have been expanded across Tamil Nadu and the examination was done in various premises, including the Bharathi Womens Arts College here.
Tamil Nadu has received 24,000 kits from China and 12,000 from the Centre.
While the DMK had demanded that the government disclose the price of the kits, the State said the rate was fixed by the Centre and it was reportedly Rs 600 each. Palaniswami had days ago said that the government had already placed orders for 1. 25 lakh kits from China and remitted payment for it also and that the 24,000 kits were part of the overall orders.
Besides, Government Orders have been issued for procuring four lakh kits and steps were being taken on the matter, the Chief Minister had said.
Tamil Nadu has 31 testing facilities, with 21 in government medical college hospitals and 10 in the private sector and on Sunday alone, 5,744 people were tested, taking the aggregate number of those tested to 35,741.
Ariyalur and Perambalur districts in central Tamil Nadu with two and four cases respectively were the least hit, while Chennai with 285 infected people continued to top the list. Coimbatore (133), Tirupur (108) and Erode (70) in western Tamil Nadu have higher number of cases, apart from the state capital.
Over 21,000 people are in quarantine and of them, 21,381 are in their homes and 20 in government facilities and 1,987 have been admitted as in-patients in various hospitals, considering their susceptibility to the infection.
On the lockdown front, while the Centre’s revised guidelines for extended curbs are set to come into force from Monday, the Tamil Nadu government is expected to decide on easing restrictions on specified industries after perusing a report of an expert committee to be submitted to it on Monday.
The report is expected on Monday and the existing curbs will continue till a decision was taken, the state government said. Police said it has registered 2,24,952 FIRs for lockdown violations and levied a fine of Rs 1.17 crore across Tamil Nadu. Also, 2,03,256 vehicles have been seized, police said.
