Tamil Nadu reports sharp drop in Covid19 cases
So far, 12 people have died due to coronavirus in the state
Chennai: For the first time in two weeks, the curve of new patients testing positive for the new coronavirus (Covid-19) on a daily basis dropped to a remarkable low of 31 on Tuesday, while taking the total number of positive cases in Tamil Nadu to 1,204.
There was one more death today, of a 94-year-old male patient from Dindigul at the Karur government medical college hospital who collapsed due to severe respiratory problems, taking the total State death toll to 12.
This may be the beginning of the flattening of the curve vis-a-vis incidence of positive Covid-19 cases in Tamil Nadu, but the Health Secretary, Dr Beela Rajesh, was not overawed by just one day's drop. She hoped that the trend would come down with more rigorous and quick testing and intensifying the Containment Plan (CP) to ensure the virus does not spread.
Of the 31 new Covid-19 positive cases today, which included 15 males and 16 females, Dr. Beela Rajesh said 21 of them were from a "single source" travel history, one had an inter-state travel history and the remaining nine their contacts. While 69 persons with 'severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) cases were tested today, none in that tested positive for the virus.
Denying the charge that Tamil Nadu had tested less samples, compared to other States like Maharashtra and Kerala, she said they cannot be compared in a facile manner as the date of the first case appearance and the base incidence cases were different for different States. "Tamil Nadu is hailed as one of the front-runners in containing this new disease," she said. To a query, she clarified the different types of masks for different people. "As the protocol is changing, everybody is on a learning experience every day and we change according to that," she added to a related question.
Delhi escapee held
Meanwhile, 30-year-old Nitin Sharma, a Covid-19 positive patient from Delhi, who escaped from the special ward at the Government medical college hospital in Villupuram last Wednesday, was nabbed by the police at Padalam near Maduranthakam late on Tuesday.
ends.