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<ul><li><keyword id="7333997" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="tamil-nadu-health-secretary">Tamil Nadu Health Secretary</keyword> <keyword id="5148383" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Beela-Rajesh">Beela Rajesh</keyword> has been transferred to the commercial taxes and registration department, amid the sudden spike in the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> cases in the state. </li><li><keyword id="1806573" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="J-Radhakrishnan">J Radhakrishnan</keyword>, who was recently appointed as the Special Nodal Officer to coordinate the COVID efforts in Chennai, will be the <keyword id="9388971" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="new-health-secretary">new health secretary</keyword>. </li><li>According to <keyword id="4585792" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="the-ministry-of-health-and-family-welfare">the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare</keyword>, the total number of positive infections in Tamil Nadu stood at 38,716, as on June 12. </li><li>Presently, Radhakrishnan is the commissioner of Revenue Administration, Disaster Management and Mitigation, Chennai.</li></ul>Tamil Nadu Health Secretary Beela Rajesh has been transferred to the commercial taxes and registration department, amid the sudden spike in the coronavirus cases in the state. J Radhakrishnan, who was recently appointed as the Special Nodal Officer to coordinate the COVID efforts in Chennai, will be the new health secretary, as per the latest directive. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of positive infections in Tamil Nadu stood at 38,716, as on June 12, 2020. Of this, Chennai has reported the maximum number of cases at 27,000. While 20,705 people in the state have been cured so far. Presently, Radhakrishnan is the commissioner of Revenue Administration, Disaster Management and Mitigation, Chennai. According to the government orders, “he will continue to hold the post until further orders.” “We will try our best to work hard to ensure that we are able to get to a COVID-19 free Chennai. We will work with the entire team and the common people and work on how to address this,” Mr. Radhakrishnan <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/tamil-nadu-appoints-j-radhakrishnan-as-special-nodal-officer-for-chennai-corporation-to-coordinate-covid-19-efforts/article31481798.ece">told</a> The Hindu on May 1, on being appointed as the special nodal officer. However, the transfer orders have led to speculations on the reasons as to what Beela Rajesh, who was the state’s most visible face during the COVID crisis, is transferred at an uncertain time. Radhakrishnan, who is a senior bureaucrat, is known for his work as the district collector of Nagapattinam during Tsunami in 2004. He has also held the position of Assistant Country Director, Disaster Management for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/coranavirus-cases-in-punjab-news-and-updates/articleshow/74771047.cms">Punjab coronavirus cases spike to 2,887 — 86 new cases, 3 deaths reported on June 11</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/coronavirus-cases-in-hyderabad-telangana-news-and-updates/articleshow/74823424.cms">Telangana Coronavirus cases rise to 4,320, 165 dead, 1,993 cured till June 11</a>

Tamil Nadu transfers Beela Rajesh as Health Secretary, brings in J Radhakrishnan as COVID crisis worsens in the state

Chennai, Jun 12 () Amid surging COVID-19 cases, the Tamil Nadu government on Friday shunted out Health Secretary Beela Rajesh and brought back her predecessor J Radhakrishnan, who had a long stint helming the department and hands on experience in tackling crisis situations. A 1997 batch IAS officer, Rajesh, who had become the face of the health department through her daily media briefings on COVID-19, has been transferred to the Commercial Taxes and Registration Department, a Government Order said. Radhakrishnan, presently Principal Secretary and Commissioner of Revenue Administration, has been posted as Principal Secretary to Health and Family Welfare Department, it said. VGN VS VS

J Radhakrishnan brought back as TN Health Secy amid soaring COVID-19 cases

Chennai, Apr 12 () Tamil Nadu reported 106 freshCOVID-19 cases, taking the total number of those infectedto 1,075 on Sunday, the state government said.    Health Secretary Beela Rajesh said of the 106, as manyas 16 had "inter-state travel" history and the remaining weretheir contacts.    With the latest addition,  the total number of coronaviruspositive patients in the state increased to 1,075, she said.    Rajesh also said six people have been discharged, takingthe total number of those cured to 50 in the state.  VIJVS   VS

106 fresh COVID-19 cases in TN, total mounts to 1,075

Chennai, Apr 14 () After recording a spike in the pastfew days, Tamil Nadu reported a marginal dip in COVID-19 caseson Tuesday with only 31 testing positive for the contagionwhile 81 people were discharged following recovery, a seniorHealth official said here.The total number of coronavirus cases in the state roseto 1,204 and out of the fresh cases, as many as 21 were linkedto the the Jablighi Jamaat event in Delhi, one person had ahistory of inter-state travel and nine others were theircontacts, Health Secretary Beela Rajesh told reporters here.    The state had reported 98 fresh cases on Monday, 106 onSunday and 58 on Saturday.  Among those who were confirmed to have been infected bythe virus, five belonged to Chennai, taking the total numberof cases in the city to 210.    Of the 31 infected, 15 were men and 16 women, Rajesh said. VGNVS   VS

Coronavirus cases in TN crosses 1,200 with 31 testing positive

Chennai, Apr 9 () As many as 96 people in Tamil Nadutested positive for COVID-19, a majority of them returneesfrom Tablighi jamat event in Delhi, taking the total cases inthe state to 834, a top government official said. There were no deaths since Wednesday evening while 27people had been discharged after recovery, state HealthSecretary Beela Rajesh said. "Today there were 96 positive cases of which 84 of themwere from same source contact (Tablighi conference) whilethree people had made inter-state travelling and the remainingnine contracted the virus from other people including aprivate doctor," she told reporters here.So far, Tamil Nadu had reported eight deaths due tocoronavirus.Rajesh said the government has been taking up containmentactivities across 34 districts and have screened 16 lakhhouseholds with population of 58.76 lakh by more then 32,000field officers. VIJVS VS

TN reports 96 more COVID-19 cases; tally rises to 834

Chennai, Apr 7 () A 64-year old woman died of COVID-19in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday taking the toll due to the disease toseven in the state while 69 more people tested positive as thetally rose to 690, a top health department official said.   The woman, who died at the Rajiv Gandhi GovernmentGeneral Hospital here, had co-morbid conditions likehypertension and diabetes, Health Secretary Beela Rajesh said.    With this, the number of COVID-19 deaths in the state hasrisen to seven.   Of the new positive cases, as many as 63 were returneesof the jamaat meet held in Delhi's Nizamuddin area recently,she said. VGNVS   VS

COVID-19: One more death in TN, 69 new cases

Chennai, Apr 13 () COVID-19 cases in Tamil Naducontinued to mount with 98 people, including 92 "same source"contacts, testing positive for coronavirus on Monday, takingthe tally in the state to 1,173, the health department said.    The other six cases were secondary contacts and includeddoctors and medical staff, Health Secretary Beela Rajesh said.    The state on Sunday registered 106 fresh cases.  Of the 98 positive cases, as many as 92 of them were 'samesource' contacts, she said, an apparent reference to theTablighi Jamaat congregation in the national capital.    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. VIJVS   VS

TN reports 98 more COVID-19 cases

Chennai, Apr 6 () Tamil Nadu Chief Minister KPalaniswami on Monday said order has been placed for buyingone lakh Rapid Test Kits from China and it will arrive here onApril 9 aiding quick screening for coronavirus in the State.Of the 4,612 people who were tested for the contagion,571 turned positive, Palaniswami said adding the RTKs will besent to all districts and testing could be done quickly forwhomever needed."One lakh test kits have been ordered and we aregetting it from China," he told reporters adding the kits havea 30-minute window for providing results which will aid quickand more screening of people to ascertain the presence ofvirus.The kits will arrive on Thursday and the following daydistricts could have them, he said.Also, orders have been placed for 2,500 ventilatorsand more masks and Personal Protective Equipment was beingprocured to meet requirements, he said.The State has optimal inventory of drugs includingantibiotics and intravenous fluids needed to treat coronaviruspatients, he said.While Tamil Nadu already has 17 testing facilitiesincluding 11 in government and six in private sectors,permission of the Central government was being awaited for 21more testing centres."Medical equipment has already come and as soon we getthe Central government's permission, a total of 38 testingcentres will be functional and the number of those beingtested for the virus will be increased," he said.Health Secretary Beela Rajesh had indicated on Sundaythat the government intended to put up testing amenities forcoronavirus in medical college hospitals run by it across theState. VGNSS

One lakh kits arriving from China to aid quick screening in TN: CM

Chennai, Apr 14 () Residents of a city localityopposed the cremation of a doctor from Andhra Pradesh who diedof COVID-19 here, forcing authorities to carry it out inanother place overnight with a top official blaming'coordination gap' for the unsavoury turn of events.As the body of the 56-year old doctor, who died on Mondayat a corporate hospital, was taken to the cremation ground inAmbattur area, the locals protested against it, saying itmight lead to spread of coronavirus in their locality, policesaid on Tuesday.Following the resistance, the body of the man fromNellore was taken back to the hospital mortuary, they said.Top government sources said the man was cremated late onMonday in another locality in the city.A top official from Chennai Corporation told that thecremation was done with the full protocol for COVID-19victims. When asked about locals objecting to the cremation, stateHealth secretary Beela Rajesh said such an incident was rareand said "coordination gap" could have been the reason behindit, but did not elaborate. "It is a very sensitive issue. Everybody in the governmentis aware of the guidelines that needs to be followed todispose (a body). We have also issued guidelines to privatehospitals. These kind of issues have not occurred in the past.A small coordination gap has occurred", she said. The government has already informed the districtcollectors about the procedures to be followed, Rajesh said,adding, "we will reinforce them again". The doctor who contracted coronavirus from a TablighiJamaat attendee was first admitted to a government hospital inNellore, about 175 km from here, and later shifted to thecorporate hospital on April 6.He was a diabetic and also suffered from hypertension. Tamil Nadu has so far reported 11 fatalities due to thevirus while the cumulative total of those infected as onMonday stood at 1,173.Of these, 31 of were children below the age of 10, thegovernment said. Meanwhile, 40 police personnel in Coimbatore areundergoing tests for coronavirus after a person who servedfood to a few of them tested positive for COVID19 on Monday. According to police, a 61-year old man who hadvolunteered to provide food to these police personnel on dutyat various locations was in the latest list of COVID19 cases. He had visited Delhi for personal reasons and returned tothe city on March 23 by flight. He had initially tested negative twice for the virus andvisited the police stations and district collectorate andserved food to the police personnel. However, after he developed cough and cold two days ago,the swab samples were sent for testing, and later it emergedhe was infected with the virus. He has now been admitted to alocal hospital, police said. Subsequently, health authorities approached senior policeofficials to send the 40 police personnel, including anInspector, to Primary Health Centre for testing, which wasunder progress, they said. Officials are tracking the travel contacts and familymembers of the man. Meanwhile, the blood samples of nearly 100 people,residents of an apartment complex in RS Puram area in the citywhere four people tested positive for COVID19 a couple of daysago, have been taken for tests. These include those who attended a funeral at theapartment, officials said. VIJ NVM SAVS VS

Protest mars cremation of AP doctor who died of COVID-19 in Chennai

(Eds: updating death toll, combining related stories) Chennai, Apr 4 () Tamil Nadu recorded two COVID-19 deaths on Saturday, both having a connection to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi, as it added a significant number of positive cases with travel history to the national capital for the religious meet. With a section of people showing a "casual" attitude towards the lockdown enforced by the government to prevent the spread of the contagion, business hours of shops selling essential items were cut down to restrict public movement. Chief Minister K Palaniswami appealed against giving a communal colour to the spread of the disease and requested people to avoid religious congregations and strictly maintain social distancing. On Saturday, the virus-triggered fatalities in the state touched three, even as the overall confirmed cases stood at 485, next only to Maharashtra with 635 infected persons. A 51-year-old man from Villupuram and a woman aged 53 from Theni succumbed to the virus on Saturday, with the previous victim being a 54-year-old male from Madurai who died last week. The deceased from Villupuram had earlier travelled to Delhi to attend the Tablighi Jamaat event and was undergoing treatment at the Villupuram Medical College Hospital. He died this morning after developing difficulty in breathing, the Health department said. Later in the day, the women breathed her last at the Theni Medical College Hospital. She was a contact of her COVID-19 positive husband, who had visited Delhi earlier to participate in the Nizamuddin religious meet. Citing her case, Health Secretary Beela Rajesh stressed on the need for persons having attended the Jamaat meet to voluntarily turn up before authorities for medical attention. "That is why the chief minister and the government have been repeatedly asking people to come forward if they had gone to attend that religious conference in New Delhi," she said. Further, the state added another 74 positive cases of coronavirus infection, taking the total in the state to 485. Of the 74, as many as 73 had attended the Nizamuddin event, while the other person had been in contact with a person who had travelled abroad, Rajesh said. Rajesh said while the whole world was facing a challenge to contain the disease, COVID-19 for India was like a 'medical disaster'. "For a country like ours, it is a medical disaster. We cannot predict how the condition of a (coronavirus) patient will change," she said, adding that the government's focus was on containment activities and encouraging social distancing. She said the containment activities have been increased and so far 7.23 lakh households with a population of 29 lakh have been screened by over 11,000 field staff of the health department. The containment zones have been set up based on the number of positive cases an area or a locality has reported. While the state's total positive cases as on Saturday stood at 485, as many as 437 of them had attended the religious meet, according to government data.Meanwhile, the government imposed fresh curbs and announced curtailing the business hours of shops selling essential commodities by 90 minutes.The move came a day after Palaniswami warned of tightening the ongoing lockdown as many were not following the prohibitory orders clamped to implement it and were "casual" about it."To further curtail public movement, the time allowed for them (people) to buy essential items is being revised from 6 am to 1 pm and this would come into effect from April 5 (Sunday)," he said in a statement.Currently, shops selling essential items are allowed to transact business from 6 am to 2.30 pm.Further, he also appealed that "people should avoid giving communal colour to this (virus) and should not show hatred to those affected by it," he said.His appeal came at a time when Nizamuddin West in Delhi has emerged as an epicentre for the spread of coronavirus in different parts of the country after thousands of people took part in a religious congregation organised byTablighi Jamaat from March 1-15 and returned to their states.The virus-affected persons should be shown love and compassion, the chief minister added. VIJ SA APR IJT

TN records two COVID-19 deaths, 74 more test positive for virus

(Eds: Adds details, combines related stories)Chennai, Apr 12 () Tamil Nadu on Sunday reported106 new cases of COVID-19 to take the overall tally past the1,000 mark, as one more person succumbed to the deadly virus,as the toll stood at 11. As many as eight doctors were affected with thevirus, Health Secretary Beela Rajesh told reporters here. With a focus on "aggressive testing", the governmenthas decided to coordinate with the private sector in thiseffort and would bear the expenses involved, she said.Of the 106 new cases, 16 had "inter-state travel"history and the remaining were their contacts, she said, evenas the cumulative number of positive cases climbed to 1,075.A 45-year old woman from the city was the latestvictim to the contagion and died at a government hospital onSaturday, nearly a week after she was admitted there. The death toll from the virus in Tamil Nadu nowstands at 11.Further, 50 people have been discharged so far.Among the new cases were eight doctors-- two each fromthe Railways and the state government, while the rest wereworking in the private sector, she added.Further, the government has stepped up testing and hasreceived approvals from the Centre to set up 23 facilities inthe state."We have got approvals from Government of India to setup 14 government labs and nine private labs", she said, addingJIPMER in Puducherry has been nominated as 'Mentor Lab' by theCentre.The government has now turned its focus on "aggressivetesting" and has decided to rope in the private sector also.Rajesh said the private sector has fixed a price fortesting the samples and that Chief Minister K Palaniswami hasannounced the government will bear all the expenses."Our strategy is aggressive testing now," she said.According to reports, private sector has fixed a rateof Rs 4,500 for testing a COVID-19 sample.On Sunday, 49 new cases of Severe Acute RespiratoryInfection (SARI) were reported, with two of them testingpositive for coronavirus, she said.Tirupur in the state recorded 35 new positive cases onSunday followed by Coimbatore (22) and Chennai with 18 cases.The state capital topped the number of cases with 199,followed by Coimbatore at 119.Rajesh said the government has recently launched aninteractive voice response system (IVRS) facility enablingcallers to know whether they have symptoms of COVID-19.Meanwhile in Tiruchirappalli, a 40-year old COVID-19positive patient was booked for "attempt to murder" after heallegedly spat on a doctor treating him at the governmenthospital.The patient admitted to the hospital's coronavirusward on Saturday also removed his mask and threw it at thedoctor, enraging the hospital staff and other patients.Ever since his admission in the ward, he has not beencooperating with the medical staff, police said.A report from Nagapattinam district stated that a 65-year old doctor, running a private clinic at Kadambadi in thedistrict has tested positive for the virus after his returnfrom the US three weeks back.The district administration has appealed to the peoplewho received treatment from him to come forward and subjectthemselves to medical examination.Meanwhile in Erode, a coronavirus positive woman hasgiven birth to a 'healthy' baby boy at a government medicalcollege hospital at nearby Perundurai, where she has beenundergoing treatment, officials said.A team of doctors carried out the ceasarean deliveryat the Perundurai IRT Government Medical College Hospital, adesignated facility for COVID-19 cases, on Saturday night.She is among the 14 women undergoing treatment at thehospital for coronavirus.The new born was 'healthy', officials said.Meanwhile, the state government said individuals andorganisations cannot distribute food to the needy in thestreets, saying it was a violation of the prohibitory ordersclamped to enforce the ongoing lockdown, a move opposed by theopposition DMK and Makkal Needhi Maiam."This (distribution of food in the open) will lead tospread of the disease (coronavirus)," an official releasesaid, adding volunteers, political parties and others wantingto help can make contributions with the district collector orheads of the respective civic bodies.The officials will distribute food by enforcing socialdistancing and all should cooperate, the government said,adding, those flouting the norms will be deemed violators andwill have to face legal action.It said the very purpose of clamping Section 144 ofCr.Pc., which bars the assembly of more than five persons, wasto avoid crowding and ultimately prevent the spread of virus.DMK President M K Stalin slammed the move, sayingwhoever had issued the order was "heartless" and wondered whysomeone wanting to help people should be dissuaded from doingso."Social distancing can be enforced by the police. Buthow can one order that food should not be provided to theaffected people," he said in a statement.It was an "autocratic" order, he alleged.MNM chief Kamal Haasan said while neighbouring stateswere getting the help of youth and the private sector, theTamil Nadu government was discouraging those who wanted tohelp the poor."This is no time for commission or omission," he saidin a tweet. CORR SSN VIJ SA SS

COVID-19 positive cases in TN cross 1,000, eight docs contract virus

Chennai, Apr 19 () Among the top four states in thecountry with most COVID-19 infections, Tamil Nadu has startedwitnessing a dip in number of new cases during last week andis now optimistic of flattening the curve in the coming days.The recent daily numbers have been showing a decline or amarginal increase and authorities attribute the trend to amulti-pronged approach adopted by the government to stem thespread of the deadly virus that has so far claimed 15 lives inthe state."The last three days saw a decline in the number ofCOVID-19 positive cases, indicating our efforts in monitoringand effective monitoring at that, appropriate preventionmeasures and containment plans are beginning to pay results,"Health Minister C Vijaya Baskar said on Saturday.Positive cases in Tamil Nadu kept rising steeply from thebeginning of this month largely due to more people whoreturned the Tabhlighi Jamaat event in New Delhi and theircontacts testing positive in various parts of the state, whichis in the fourth spot country-wide with 1,372 cases.In fact, as much as 84 per cent of the cases in TamilNadu are linked to the last month's Islamic congregation inNizamuddin in Delhi that has turned out to be the biggesthotspot for coronavirus in the country.Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal had onSaturday said in Delhi that most of the Markaz event-relatedcases have been found in states with high burden of thedisease, such as Tamil Nadu (84 per cent), Telengana (79 percent), Delhi (63 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (59 per cent) andAndhra Pradesh (61 per cent).One of the reasons cited by the health officials in TamilNadu for the now dwindling numbers is that the government hastested all the estimated about 1,500 Tabhligi event returnees,who were suspected to have been infected with the virus.With a spurt in the increase in the number of cured --365 as of April 18 -- the state administration led by ChiefMinister K Palaniswami is optimistic that its fight againstthe pandemic will flatten the curve in the coming days andperhaps even the new cases might reach "zero" soon. "Since we have adopted a multi-pronged approach, weare heading towards a good situation," Vijaya Baskar said inan apparent reference to the flattening of the curve, likeneighbouring Kerala. Though Tamil Nadu reported 49 new positive cases onSaturday, taking the total number to 1,372, the number ofinfected has been largely declining since Monday last. After 98 positive cases on April 13, the state recorded31 the next day, 38 cases on Wednesday, 25 on Thursday, 56 onFriday and 49 on Saturday. Nearly 30 people among the Tablighi meet attendees, whowere later officially referred as "single-source", weredischarged on recovery from different hospitals. In hotspots like Chennai, which has the highest number ofinfected people in the state, the civic body has been keepinga tab on the residents, carrying out door knocks through itshealth staff to ascertain if any new case is reported, besidescontainment measures such as sealing of localities.The Greater Chennai Corporation has already made out alist of persons with co-morbid health conditions likediabetes, hypertension and other vulnerable sections includingthe senior citizens. "Since the first COVID-19 case was reported on March 8,the health department has mobilised teams to step up vigil andtook appropriate preventive measures, and the governmentupscaled the special COVID-19 ward facilities in Chennai andin several districts government hospitals," a senior healthofficial said.Those with travel history and their relatives weremonitored, he added.On the 15 fatalities due to COVID-19 in the state, VijayaBaskar insists the mortality rate of 1.1 per cent was the'lowest.'Another factor that worked in favour of the governmentwas the effective awareness campaign initiated by it."Majority of the people complied with the curfew andare staying indoors. This is a great support to Tamil Nadugovernment to contain COVID-19 spread," the Minister said. Also, virus tests are conducted even on those withinfluenza like illness (ILI) and "positive cases are undercontrol," he said. State Health Secretary Beela Rajesh has been instrumentalin identifying vulnerable groups among the population,including pregnant women, and ensured the patients havingother ailments had their regular dose of medicines without anyhindrance, officials said.Rajesh is a medical doctor as well, much like the stateHealth Minister.Officials pointed out that when the number of positivecases spiked, the state rolled out a series of proactivemeasures under the guidance of the chief minister.It announced a statewide lockdown a day ahead ofPrime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement on a similarnationwide exercise last month.Also, sealing of Tamil Nadu borders when Kerala andKarnataka reported more number of COVID-19 cases and temporarysuspension of all transport services early last montheffectively contributed to the state's fight againstcoronavirus, the officials added. CORR SAVS VS

As new COVID-19 cases dip, TN's hopes of flattening curve rise

Chennai, Apr 20 () In a poignant incident, anorthopaedic surgeon had to bury his associate, a neurosurgeonwho died of COVID-19 here, in the middle of the night usinghis bare hands and a shovel at a crematorium with the help ofjust two hospital wardboys after the undertakers fled when amob, protesting the interment, attacked them.Their opposition was due to a misconception thatthe contagion may spread in their neighbourhood if the virusvictim's burial took place. The windscreens of the ambulance in which thebody of the 55-year-old neurosurgeon was brought to thecrematorium on Sunday night were smashed and even the casketwas not spared.They attacked the undertakers and coroporationsanitation officials, among others, using bricks, stones,bottles and sticks and chased them away. Seven people, including two ambulance driverswere assaulted resulting in severe injuries,police said.The sources said 20 men have been arrested andwere remanded to judicial custody. Recounting with grief the attack that unfolded,Dr K Pradeep Kumar, an orthopaedic and arthroscopysurgeon,told , "this must not happen to anyone be it adoctor or a layman. I have seen people dying but I have not buried anyoneand doing it was scary amid a fear for our lives." Though the private hospital authorities handed overthe body to the sanitation officials last night, theambulance carrying the remains did not start from there."When we enquired why, we were told that peoplewere opposing and holding a protest near Kilpauk," Pradeepsaid.He drove to that locality in his car to assess thesituation and found people had gathered in large numbers andwere agitated. Later, civic body officials made arrangementsfor burial at another crematorium at nearby Velangadu, and theambulance headed there."It may have been about 15 minutes since theexcavator started work to dig a pit, when about 60-70 peoplearmed with stones, bricks and sticks gathered inside thecreamatorium and began attacking us.The two ambulance drivers who were shifting thebody from the vehicle to the ground sustained severeinjuries," Pradeep said. Also, two sanitation officials who were incharge of the burial were injured severely and three otherswere also attacked, he said. To a question, the doctor said there were nopolice officials around and the wife of the deceased and histeenage son were also forced to leave the crematorium."Though injured, the ambulance drivers Dhamuand Anand were brave enough to place the casket again in thevehicle and I asked them to leave the place and I followedthem in my car," he said, adding he escaped from attack due toGod's grace. The ambulance drivers somehow managed to reachthe hospital of the deceased and left the vehicle there. Dr Pradeep said he picked up personalprotective equipment, took two wardboys with him for help anddrove the ambulance himself to the crematorium again afterseeking police help."Both the drivers suffered deep cuts on theirscalp, requiring multiple sutures and had contusion too and Igot them admitted to Kilpauk government hospital," he added. When he reached the crematorium again, theorthopaedic surgeon saw police deployment in the peripherythough there were still people out milling around."Only an eerie silence and there were noneinside the burial ground. The wardboys and I hurriedly loweredthe body into the pit as we were afraid that the violence maybe repeated." Though they placed the body on the ground, they hadno one to help them to fill the grave with sand."There was just one shovel which I gave to oneof the ward boys and two of us used our hands to fill theabout 8-10 feet pit. It took over an hour for us to complete the task andby then it was about 1.30 am (Monday)," he said, adding apoliceman lent a helping hand towards the end. "Even policemen were afraid of coming near us." Dr M Arunmozhirajan, a friend of the victim, who hadto beat a hasty retreat from the crematorium, said "this isdue to ignorance; people need to be educated that a body whenburied poses no threat." An assistant professor at a government hospital, hewanted authorities to ensure that such instances do not getrepeate.Local Administration Minister S P Velumani said itwas inhuman to obstruct the burial of a doctor who worked forthe people and assaulting people involved in the burial likecorporation workers caused grief. He asserted that tough action will be taken againstsuch elements and added that those involved in the attack havebeen arrested.Tamil Nadu Government Doctors Association presidentDr K Senthil demanded slapping of the stringent Goondas Act onthose who unleashed violence.Health Secretary Beela Rajesh said: "Saluatations toDr..for his exemplary service in the fight against COVID-19.Let us stand by each and every healthcare worker, they are thereal heroes." Dr J Amalorpavanathan, formerly convener, CadaverTransplant Programme, Tamil Nadu government, said "A deadperson cannot sneeze or cough or breathe. So all ways of infection spread stops the moment aperson dies.Viral replication also stops.Skin may containviral particles.So long as there is no touch , there is zeropercent chance of infection spread." VGNBNWELCOME VGNBNWELCOME

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