As of Sunday, three patients were under hospital isolation and 1,088 passengers were under home quarantine for 28 days, State health authorities have said.

Apart from a man hailing from Kancheepuram, who arrived here from Oman and tested positive for the novel coronavirus, a person from the city who went to Nepal, where he came into contact with a relative from Japan, has been kept under isolation for a week now. The third person who is under isolation is from Texas, and was admitted to hospital early on Sunday morning. Till date, 1,22,318 passengers have been screened at the airports in Chennai, Tiruchi, Madurai, and Coimbatore. Health officials have lifted 68 samples from passengers so far, and have sent them to the King Institute of Preventive Medicine, Guindy, and the National Institute of Virology, Pune, for testing. The samples of 60 passengers have been processed, and 59 of them have tested negative for the virus. “Eight [samples] are being processed, and one sample has tested positive for COVID-19 infection,” a health bulletin said.

All those arriving from China, Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, Iran and Italy, or those who have a travel history to these countries, have been instructed to remain under strict home quarantine or hospital isolation for 28 days from the date of arrival into the country.

The condition of the passengers being kept under observation at home and in hospital is stable. “The male passenger with a travel history to Oman, who tested positive for the virus, is also stable, and is under hospital observation. He will be discharged after two consecutive samples test negative,” an official said.

Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar told mediapersons that the patient who is under hospital quarantine had been referred to the GH after he developed fever. “The patient is diabetic, and his condition is now stable,” he said. A sample from another person who arrived from Texas has been lifted, and his condition is said to be stable. “He is asymptomatic but under observation. We have put under surveillance eight persons, including the family members and the taxi driver who had been in contact with the patient who arrived from Oman. They are under home quarantine,” he said. “There is no need to panic or fear the infection. There is no need to wear a mask. Only those who treat patients with the infection, including sanitary workers, need to wear them. Those whose immunity is compromised also need to wear masks. Airport authorities wear masks as they are screening about 8,500 people a day,” he said.

He said it was more important to follow hygiene measures like washing hands with soap and water.

‘Don’t believe rumours’

Minister for Animal Husbandry Udumalai K. Radhakrishnan on Sunday urged the public not to pay heed to rumours linking broilers with COVID-19.

He noted that the Department of Health and Family Welfare had clarified that the consumption of chicken did not cause the disease.