Positive coronavirus cases in Tamil Nadu rise to 309, second highest in country

As many as 75 more people tested positive for coronavirus in Tamil Nadu on Thursday and the total count rose to 309, a senior official said and the tally is the second highest in the country.

Of the 75 cases reported today, 74 were returnees from a recent Tablighi Jamat congregation held in Delhi's Nizamuddin West and another was a contact- a Chennai resident- of a person infected earlier, Health Secretary Beela Rajesh told reporters here.

A total of 264 persons who had attended the conference from the State in the national capital have so far tested positive for the contagion and 45 others have contact/travel history, she said.

All patients are stable and seven have been discharged following treatment and after they tested negative.

To a question, the official said there was no social transmission of the virus in Tamil Nadu and all positive cases were either due to travel or contact with those who had travelled outside of the State.

Those infected are spread across 20 districts including Tiruvallur near here, she said.

Of the about 1,500 people who had gone for the Delhi meet, there was no increase in number of returnees who have approached theauthorities, she said.

While 1,103 returnees came forward to get themselves tested for virus as on Wednesday, the number remains the same today too and all of them have been tested and full results are awaited, she added.

As many as 4,585 field personnel were working on containment initiatives in full swing in all localities where infected persons were living and 13,67,534 individuals have been screened so far.

Apart from the existing 17 labs (11 government and six private sector), six more labs will be added for testing soon, she said.

All doctors, nurses and paramedics working in isolation wards were being provided with Personal Protective Equipment and daily refresher drill was being held to train people to use the PPEs and interact with infected people maintaining distance, she said.