As Puducherry prepares for the final round of tests for its three active COVID-19 cases, Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao urged the public to continue to adhere to preventive measures.
Mr. Rao told a press conference that while one patient in Mahe had tested negative and awaited a repeat test. The patient would be discharged on Wednesday if the results were negative. The results of final tests on the two patients at the IGMCRI would be available in the next couple of days.
“If all goes well, we are at a situation where Puducherry could become COVID-free as early as Thursday,” he said.
He also noted that Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy’s appeal to the public for maintaining distancing discipline and wearing protective masks seemed to have worked. After the crowding was witnessed at markets on day one when lockdown regulations were relaxed, things were more under control, he said.
RT-PCR on five traders
The Health Department has carried out RT-PCR tests on five traders after a trucker they interacted with tested positive for COVID-19 in Theni recently. Contact tracing of others who may have interacted with the traders has also been initiated, S. Mohan Kumar, Director of Health said.
On Monday, 157 traders with some link to truckers bringing in vegetable loads from Koyambedu had tested negative.
Rahul Alwal, SSP (L&O) said that police had with the help of the PWD sealed 103 entry points along the porous border with Tamil Nadu. Only eight major inter-State border points were kept open and entry was allowed only after stringent multi-layered vetting, he said.
So far, 92,500 of an estimated 11 lakh citizens in Puducherry have downloaded the Aarogya Setu app. Officials appealed to more people to download the app which was a handy tool for COVID-19 prevention.