8 test positive for COVID-19 in TN; tally goes to 50

Eight people, including a 10-month-old boy, have tested positive for COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu, taking the total number of cases in the state to 50, Health Minister C Vijayabaskar said on Sunday.

The eight from Erode district were contacts of two Thailand nationals, who have already tested positive for COVID-19 and undergoing treatment at the IRT Perundurai Medical College. They were earlier identified through contact tracing by the Health Department, Vijayabaskar said.

Health Secretary Beela Rajesh said the eight included four of a family. "We had kept these eight people under quarantine and they have tested positive for the virus," she told reporters here.

The total number of 50 cases include four who were discharged following recovery and a deceased, Rajesh said.

Meanwhile, Health Department sources in Coimbatore said four members of a family, including a 10-month-old baby, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and admitted in a state-run hospital.

A woman, who was in the team of doctors in the Erode government hospital and treated patients from Thailand was admitted to a hospital with symptoms four days ago, according to the sources.

As a precautionary measure, all her family members were quarantined and test reports of the four people, including the doctor, the infant, 50-year old mother and a domestic help, came positive on Sunday evening, the sources said.

The doctor was transferred from Erode to the railways hospital in Podanur near Coimbatore. After she was isolated, the hospital was closed, the sources added.