Chennai, May 14(): Two persons died due to COVID-19in Tamil Nadu, taking the death toll to 66 while 447 people,including a three-month-old girl, tested positive for thevirus on Thursday, state health minister C Vijaya Baskar said.
With the fresh additions, the cumulative tally ofcoronavirus cases in the state touched 9,674, he said.
After reporting more than 500 cases for nearly 10days, Tamil Nadu witnessed a slight dip in the number ofpositive cases registered.
A bulletin issued by the health department said 64people were discharged after treatment on Thursday taking thetotal to 2,240 people till date. The Minister said the government has stepped up testingfacilities and as of Thursday 2,80,023 people were testedwhile the total number of samples was 2,91,432.
Asking people not to panic over the spread ofcoronavirus, he said Covid-19 patients including thosediagnosed with cancer, besides HIV positive people weredischarged following treatment. He said 15 people, who require dialysis and two sufferingfrom liver failure, were also discharged from the Rajiv GandhiGovernment General Hospital (RGGGH) here. Their getting cured of the disease shows "the government isfully engaged in containing the spread of virus," he said. "Chief Minister ( K Palaniswami) is monitoring thesituation, giving directions to authorities on a daily basis,"Baskar said. The state's death rate stood at 0.67 per cent, he saidand credited the dedication of government doctors, nurses andhealth department workers for ensuring such a low figure. "Through proper testing, early diagnosis and clinicalmanagement we have reduced the death rate.
Though it is very challenging for high risk patients,we have been able to discharge them after treatment," he said. Among those discharged were a 96-year-old personand a new born baby from the RGGGH, he said.
The government was also engaged in auditing thedeaths among people who tested COVID-19 positive.
"A Rapid Response Team has been formed to studyon how this disease spreads, its virulence and which agegroups are mostly affected.
It will submit its report to chief secretary (KShanmugham)," he said.
The team would comprise those from General andcommunity medicine and microbiologists, he said.
Referring to the meeting chaired by Palaniswamiwith medical experts earlier in the day, he said the WorldHealth Organisation lauded the government for its approachvis-a-vis treatment of COVID-19 affected.
WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathanparticipated in the consultations through video-conferencingfacility.
Among those infected on Thursday were 22 peoplewho had returned from Maharashtra, which tops the country'sCOVID-19 cases at 27,524.
Two individuals who had returned from Qatar had alsotested positive, the government said.
Number of active cases in Tamil Nadu was 7,365while there are 58 testing facilities which include 38government operated ones.
Chennai constituted the major chunk of casesamong districts at 5,637 cases till date, followed byThiruvallur at 495, Chengalpattu (430) and Cuddalore which had413 infections.
All 447 cases reported today were contacts,according to the Health department bulletin.
Among the deceased on Thursday was a 45-year-oldwoman from Chennai who was also suffering from "diabetesmellitus, systematic hypertension" and also COVID-19 positive.
She died due to acute "respiratory distresssyndrome."
A 43-year-old man suffering from chronic kidneydisease, died due to "respiratory failure/pneumonia", thebulletin said. VIJ SA BNWELCOME BNWELCOME