Seventeen new cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Tamil Nadu as on Monday morning, recording the biggest single-day increase in the number of positive cases in the state so far. The total number of positive cases of coronavirus in Tamil Nadu stands at 67, of which 4 have recovered and one has died.
Addressing a press meet, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said that out of the 17 new cases, 10 belong to Erode district. He also said that over 1000 persons from Tamil Nadu had attended a conference in New Delhi, leading to the spike in the number of cases in Erode. This was a conference conducted by the Tableeghi Jamath in Nizamuddin in New Delhi. According to the Health Department, five new cases have been recorded in Chennai, one in Madurai and one in Karur district. The Karur patient was tested at Thiruvarur.
#TN: 17 new +ve cases for #Covid_19. #Madurai: 25 Y M at Rajaji Hosp. #Chennai:4 ppl via contact of USA return Pt at PvtHosp. 50 Y F,Broadway at RGGH.#Erode 10 M Pts travel history Delhi at IRTT,Perundurai. #Kulithalai :42 Y M at #Karur MC,Trav.Hist to Delhi tested at Thiruvarur
— Dr C Vijayabaskar (@Vijayabaskarofl) March 30, 2020
The 10 patients from Erode (patient 56 - 65), all males, had travelled to Delhi and were in contact with patient 5 and 6, both Thailand nationals who had tested positive before. Patient 51 is a 25-year-old male from Madurai who is a family contact of patient 12 who was the state's first death. He is currently isolated at Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai.
Patients 52 to 55 are the family of patient 42. This includes a 52-year-old woman, 76-year-old woman, 15-year-old woman and a 20-year-old man. Patient 42 is the 25-year-old male from West Mambalam, Chennai who returned from the United States. He was admitted at Global Hospital and reported positive on March 28. A total of 89 contacts were traced to him.
Patient 66 is a 50-year-old woman from Broadway in Chennai and currently admitted at Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital in Chennai. Patient 67 is a 42-year-old male from Kulithalai with travel history to Delhi. He is currently admitted at Karur Medical College Hospital.
“The only solution to this is social distancing. We are now in Stage 1 and stage 2. The media has to help us spread this message. This is a matter of life. People don't know about this. We have been giving messages to increase awareness,” the Chief Minister added.
He further reiterated the importance of social-distancing.
“We don't know what medicine to give for this disease. What can we give? Even developed countries have not found a medicine for this. We don't want to mention any medicine which you will take and be forced to go to the hospital,” he stated.
On Sunday, 8 new cases were reported in Tamil Nadu - 4 in Coimbatore and 4 in Erode. This included a 10-month-old baby. The Coimbatore patient, a 23-year-old woman who is patient 43, had come in contact with patient 26 who had travelled along with two Thai nationals - patients 5 and 6. Three other patients had contact history with patient 43 and this includes a 10-month-old male child, 58-year-old woman and a 52-year-old man. All four have been admitted at ESI Hospital, Coimbatore.
The four other patients now admitted at IRT Perundurai Medical College (IRTPMC), Perundurai in Erode district have travel history to Delhi.
The state had announced containment zones in many places including nine zones in Chennai since Sunday. These measures include tracking the residents of all the houses in a five-kilometre radius around the residences of those who were tested positive of coronavirus in the state on a daily basis. The local administration in the districts have been tasked with monitoring the health condition of everyone living within the containment zone in their respective districts. These measures have been put in place to restrict the spread of coronavirus in the state, since the Health Secretary had confirmed local transmission in the state.
Four patients have so far recovered from the disease and discharged from the hospitals while one patient died in the hospital while undergoing treatment. The number of active cases in Tamil Nadu now stands at 62.