The number of COVID-19 cases continued to rise sharply in the central region on Tuesday, with 78 more persons testing positive for the virus.
It was the highest count on a single day for the central districts with Nagapattinam district, in particular, witnessing a sharp spike with 43 new cases. Persons returning from Chennai accounted for a chunk of the cases. Tiruchi came next with 14 cases. Ten cases were recorded in Tiruvarur district and four cases each were identified in Thanjavur and Ariyalur districts. Perambalur recorded two cases and Karur one.
Of the 43 cases in Nagapattinam district, five were categorised as “imported” cases. Natives of Nagapattinam district, who had returned from Chennai, contributed to the sharp rise in cases with 36 Chennai returnees testing positive. They were from different parts of Chennai, including Thiruvanmiyur, West Mambalam, T. Nagar, Kilpauk and Choolaimedu.
Five other patients, who had tested positive for the virus, had returned from Jharkhand, Bihar, Gujarat, Kerala and Malaysia. All of them are under treatment at the Government Hospitals in Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai. Most of them were asymptomatic and were under close watch.
According to a health official in Nagapattinam, out of the 75 cases reported in the last one week, 65 were the Chennai returnees.
“Vigil has been stepped up at the entry points to the district. It has been noticed that many people belonging to Nagapattinam district have been returning from Chennai. Swab samples are being lifted from those returning from Chennai. Otherwise, there was no cause for alarm,” he said.
Four of a family residing at 11th cross in Thillai Nagar were among the 14 cases in Tiruchi. A doctor, who had returned from Kallakurichi, was among those who tested positive for the virus. Four cases were reported from Mettupalayam near Thuraiyur. They were under treatment at K.A.P. Viswanatham Medical College Hospital.
In Ariyalur district, three out four patients, who had tested positive for the virus, had returned from Chennai. The other patient was a Kuwait returnee. While he was admitted to the K.A.P. Viswanatham Medical College Hospital in Tiruchi, other three patients were under treatment at the Government Medical College Hospital in Ariyalur.
The total number of persons who had tested positive for coronavirus in Thanjavur district increased to 171 on Tuesday with the addition of four new cases.
The number of active cases being treated at the Thanjavur Government Medical College Hospital stood at 64, sources said.
With 10 more persons testing positive, 90 out of 148 persons who had tested positive for COVID-19 virus in Tiruvarur district so far are undergoing treatment at the Tiruvarur Government Medical College Hospital.