Thirty-seven persons, 33 in Ariyalur district, three in Thanjavur and one in Perambalur, tested positive for COVID-19 in the central region on Monday. Most of the patients had contracted the infection from Koyambedu market, official sources said.
In Ariyalur, 28 of the 33 patients who tested positive had travelled to their home towns in the district from Koyambedu market, where they had been working. The other five patients, including three women, are contacts of the men who returned from Chennai. The addition of these new cases raises the total number of positive cases in the district to 308.
District Collector D. Rathna on Monday inspected the 12 institutional quarantine facilities set up in the district. A total of 178 patients who are asymptomatic have been accommodated at these facilities and a team of doctors and nurses continue to monitor them round-the-clock, while food and other necessary amenities are arranged by the district administration.
Meanwhile, 36 patients, 24 of who had tested positive and admitted to the Ariyalur District Headquarters Hospital and 12 patients who were primary contacts of the patients but had tested negative were discharged on Monday. The 12 patients were admitted in a ‘pre-isolation’ ward at the GH which has been set up for high-risk and primary contacts. “They have all been asked to self-isolate themselves for 14 days. They will be allowed to venture out only after the isolation period is completed,” officials here said.
An armed reserve police personnel of the dog squad who had been undergoing treatment for COVID-19 was also discharged. He was applauded and welcomed to his residence in the police quarters by police personnel led by Ariyalur Superintendent of Police V.R. Srinivasan.
In Perambalur district, a 32-year-old woman tested positive for the infection on Monday. The woman’s husband who is a vendor at the Koyambedu market in Chennai has already tested positive for the virus last week.
Three patients, a 23-year-old woman and two men aged 35 and 32 tested positive for COVID-19 in Thanjavur district. The patients have all been admitted to the Thanjavur Government Medical College Hospital and are undergoing treatment, officials here said.
Four patients were also discharged from the Tiruchi Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital after they tested negative for the virus. Of the 65 patients who have tested positive in the district so far, 55 have recovered and returned home.