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

Tamil Nadu on Sunday reported 106 new cases of COVID-19 to take the overall tally past the 1,000 mark, as one more person succumbed to the deadly virus, as the toll stood at 11.

As many as eight doctors were affected with the virus, Health Secretary Beela Rajesh told reporters here. With a focus on "aggressive testing", the government has decided to coordinate with the private sector in this effort 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, even as the cumulative number of positive cases climbed to 1,075. A 45-year old woman from the city was the latest victim to the contagion and died at a government hospital on Saturday, nearly a week after she was admitted there.

The death toll from the virus in Tamil Nadu now stands at 11. Further, 50 people have been discharged so far. Among the new cases were eight doctors-- two each from the Railways and the state government, while the rest were working in the private sector, she added.

Further, the government has stepped up testing and has received approvals from the Centre to set up 23 facilities in the state.

"We have got approvals from Government of India to set up 14 government labs and nine private labs", she said, adding JIPMER in Puducherry has been nominated as 'Mentor Lab' by the Centre.

The government has now turned its focus on "aggressive testing" and has decided to rope in the private sector also. Rajesh said the private sector has fixed a price for testing the samples and that Chief Minister K Palaniswami has announced the government will bear all the expenses.

"Our strategy is aggressive testing now," she said. According to reports, private sector has fixed a rate of Rs 4,500 for testing a COVID-19 sample. On Sunday, 49 new cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) were reported, with two of them testing positive for coronavirus, she said. Tirupur in the state recorded 35 new positive cases on Sunday 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 an interactive voice response system (IVRS) facility enabling callers to know whether they have symptoms of COVID-19. Meanwhile in Tiruchirappalli, a 40-year old COVID-19 positive patient was booked for "attempt to murder" after he allegedly spat on a doctor treating him at the government hospital. The patient admitted to the hospital's coronavirus ward on Saturday also removed his mask and threw it at the doctor, enraging the hospital staff and other patients. Ever since his admission in the ward, he has not been cooperating 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 the district has tested positive for the virus after his return from the US three weeks back.

The district administration has appealed to the people who received treatment from him to come forward and subject themselves to medical examination. Meanwhile in Erode, a coronavirus positive woman has given birth to a 'healthy' baby boy at a government medical college hospital at nearby Perundurai, where she has been undergoing treatment, officials said.

A team of doctors carried out the ceasarean delivery at the Perundurai IRT Government Medical College Hospital, a designated facility for COVID-19 cases, on Saturday night. She is among the 14 women undergoing treatment at the hospital for coronavirus.

The new born was 'healthy', officials said. Meanwhile, the state government said individuals and organisations cannot distribute food to the needy in the streets, saying it was a violation of the prohibitory orders clamped to enforce the ongoing lockdown, a move opposed by the opposition DMK and Makkal Needhi Maiam.

"This (distribution of food in the open) will lead to spread of the disease (coronavirus)," an official release said, adding volunteers, political parties and others wanting to help can make contributions with the district collector or heads of the respective civic bodies. The officials will distribute food by enforcing social distancing and all should cooperate, the government said, adding, those flouting the norms will be deemed violators and will have to face legal action.

It said the very purpose of clamping Section 144 of Cr.Pc., which bars the assembly of more than five persons, was to avoid crowding and ultimately prevent the spread of virus. DMK President M K Stalin slammed the move, saying whoever had issued the order was "heartless" and wondered why someone wanting to help people should be dissuaded from doing so.

"Social distancing can be enforced by the police. But how can one order that food should not be provided to the affected people," he said in a statement.

It was an "autocratic" order, he alleged. MNM chief Kamal Haasan said while neighbouring states were getting the help of youth and the private sector, the Tamil Nadu government was discouraging those who wanted to help the poor.

"This is no time for commission or omission," he said in a tweet.

Image Credits: ANI