A private hospital in Thoothukudi was sealed on Wednesday after a lab technician working at the hospital tested positive for COVID-19. Her husband and mother-in-law too, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and the three are now admitted to Thoothukudi Government Medical College Hospital for treatment.
The patients who were undergoing treatment at the private hospital have now been shifted to other facilities and the premises have been sealed for sanitising.
Speaking to TNM, Thoothukudi District Collector Sandeep Nanduri, said, "Her mother-in-law and her husband were already admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 symptoms, they were in-patients. When they tested positive, we shifted them to the government hospital for isolation. Now with the lab technician testing positive, we are testing all of her co-workers and they are also being home quarantined. We will get the results today (Thursday)."
The health department officials are in the process of tracing the lab technician’s source of infection. While the results of the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), who was also tested, have returned negative, the test results of the co-workers are expected soon.
The district, as of April 8, has 17 COVID-19 positive cases of which 13 are undergoing treatment at Thoothukudi Government Medical College Hospital and four are at Thirunelveli Government Hospital. On Wednesday, the number of COVID-19 cases rose by 48 in the state, taking the total up to 738.
On Wednesday, news emerged that Villupuram police and health officers were on the lookout for a 30-year-old man, who hails from Delhi, who tested positive for the virus. According to the officials, the man’s test results returned negative the first time and so the hospital discharged him. However, his second results have returned positive following which they have launched the search.
According to the health bulletin issued on Wednesday, 32,075 passengers have completed 28 days follow-up in the state. 92,814 are under home quarantine for 28 days and 1,953 are under hospital isolation. 230 asymptomatic passengers from highly-affected countries are being quarantined in quarantine facilities near the airport.
So far, the state has tested 6095 samples of which 4,893 have tested negative and 344 samples are under process.