TN reports 98 more COVID-19 cases; Total 1,173
The other seven cases were secondary contacts andincluded doctors and medical staff, Health Secretary BeelaRajesh said. The death toll due to COVID-19 in the state remained at11, she told reporters here. The number of discharged has increased to 58, she added. The state had on Sunday registered 106 fresh cases. A report from Coimbatore said two doctors, both men, atthe ESI Hospital there tested positive for coronavirus. Earlier in the day, Chief Minister K Palaniswami announcedthe extension of the lockdown, valid till Tuesday,saying itwas in line with the recommendations of medical and publichealth experts. He said the rate of infection in the state has been reinedin since the 21-day lockdown was implemented 'vigorously' andit might lead to a spurt in spread of the contagion if thecurbs were eased. In view of the continuation of the lockdown, rice rationcard holders will get essential commodities, including rice,toor dhal, sugar and cooking oil free of cost for the month ofMay too, he said.
Also, families of workers in the construction andunorganised sectors will get Rs 1,000 as finanicialasssistance for the second time, he said. During her media briefing on the COVID-19 situation, theHealth Secretary said approvals had been received for two morelabs -- in Vellore Medical College, and State Public HealthLab here -- taking the total facilities for testing for thevirus to 25, including nine in private sector. Maintaining that the government undertook measures well inadvance in ordering medical equipmentsoon after World HealthOrganisation declared COVID19 as a pandemic, Rajesh said thesuccess story of the state was that it was able to identifyhow many people turned positive from a 'single source'contact. "Another success story is that today we had 62 peopleunder the SARI (Severe Acute Respiratory Infection category)but none of them turned COVID19 positive. This is the successstory of Tamil Nadu", she said. "However, the aim of the government is to ensure that thedeath (due to coronavirus) remains 'minimal', she said. Sharing details of the medical equipment purchased by thegovernment, Rajesh said, Tamil Nadu made procurement of thethree layer mask, N95 mask and PPE well in advance even thoughthe state did not have any single positive case then. The first case in the state was detected on March 7. "As on date we have 65 lakh three layer masks, three lakhN95 masks and 3,371 ventilators. We have also ordered for fourlakh rapid testing kits," she said. The official said the government did not wait for thearrival of shipmentcontaining the rapid testing kits fromChina but proceeded with conducting PCR (Polymerase ChainReaction)tests on a 'large scale'. A medical bulletin later released by the healthdepartment said Chennai continued to top the list of thoseaffected with 205 positive cases followed by Coimbatore 126. As on date 93,941 people are under home quarantine for 28days,it said.
Announcing the compulsory mask rule, the corporationsaid: "As long as the public are moving outside, they have towear it (masks). If found without masks, then their movementpasses will be cancelled and vehicles will be impounded forthree months. This comes into effect forthwith," it said.
In Coimbatore, the doctors, aged 26 and 27 respectively,were treating patients during the first week of this month anddeveloped symptoms of coronavirus, health department sourcessaid. They underwent the tests on Sunday and found positive forCOVID19, they said adding steps have been taken to screenother doctors and para-medics in the hospital who had comeinto contact with the two.
As many as 119 coronavirus cases are being treated in thehospital. VIJ NVM VGN VSVS VS