A 36-year-old man who was admitted to Chrompet Government Hospital in Chennai died due to COVID-19 infection at 10.15 pm on April 24, taking the total number of COVID-19 deaths in Tamil Nadu to 23. This is the youngest COVID-19 death in the state so far. The daily bulletin has erroneously mentioned his age as 34.

The deceased, a resident of Kundrathur (Kancheepuram district), was referred to Chrompet Government Hospital (Chennai district) from Kundrathur Public Health Centre, where he had gone complaining of fever and cough when his condition worsened. His body has been sent for autopsy to ascertain the exact cause for his death.

Speaking to TNM, Dr K Kolandaswamy, Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine says, “Kundrathur area already has a few cases and is a containment zone. The deceased had comorbidities like hypothyroidism and obesity (about 120 kgs body weight).”

According to reports, it is suspected that he contracted the disease from a vegetable vendor and around five vendors have tested positive for COVID-19,

Following his death, officials began contact tracing in Kundrathur, where they reportedly found a 33-year-old vegetable vendor to be positive for COVID-19 along with six of his family members. Health officials have now sealed the Kundrathur area and are actively involved in testing those in the neighbourhood. Of the seven new cases from Kancheepuram is a 6-year-old male child and a 9-year-old female child. The oldest is a 61-year-old woman. Kancheepuram district has a total of 19 cases as on April 25.

The total number of cases in Tamil Nadu stands at 1,821 with 835 active cases, 960 recoveries and 23 deaths, excluding two deaths cross notified to other states and the one patient who died after turning negative for infection.

Tamil Nadu presently has 41 COVID-19 testing centres that includes 30 government centres and 11 private centres. Seven new centres were added in a day on April 25.