Tamil Nadu reports lowest daily rise in Covid-19 cases since March 31; missing patient secured

Pushpa Narayan & Karal Marx | TNN | Updated: Apr 14, 2020, 20:40 IST

Artists work on Covid-19 awareness paining in Coimbatore on Tuesday. Photo by J Jackson

CHENNAI: A 96-year-old Covid-19 patient died in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday even as the state reported 31 new cases, the lowest daily rise for the viral infection since March 31. This takes the death toll to 12 and the total number of cases to 1,204. Police secured a patient who went missing from Government Villupuram Medical College and Hospital.
The state tested more than 2,300 samples on Tuesday. The total number of samples tested has gone up to 19,255, according to data released by the state control room, Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.
“Of these, 15,502 samples are taken from individuals. Around 4,000 are repeat samples while around 500 are tests drawn for reconfirmation,” health secretary Beela Rajesh.
Among the 31 cases tested positive, 21 were from the Tablighi Jamaat cluster. Of the remaining, one of them was a health worker in Madurai, one had travel history and eight others had contact history.
Missing patient secured
Police secured a Covid-19 patient who went missing from Government Villupuram Medical College and Hospital last week.
The Villupuram police secured the man hailing from Delhi, based on information given by a truck driver.
A nationwide alert was issued after the man went missing on April7. A north Indian truck driver, who was stuck at Padalam truck layby near Chengalpet with other drivers due to the lockdown, noticed a poster with the patient’s photo. The man on the poster was staying with the drivers for the last one week. The driver alerted a local truck driver who in turn alerted the police.
The man was being brought to Government Villupuram Medical College and Hospital. Four drivers who were in close contact with him for the past one week were taken to Chengalpet Government Hospital.