PUDUCHERRY: A 52-year-old man died and 27 more tested positive for COVID-19 in Puducherry on Thursday.

Releasing the information, Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao said that with this, the total number of cases in the UT has risen to 271, while the deaths have gone up to six.

Presently, 149 persons are undergoing treatment, which include 142 in Puducherry (120 at the Indira Gandhi Government Medical college and Research Institute (IGMCRI) and 22 at JIPMER), six in Karaikal GH and one in Mahe GH.

In all, 116 patients have been discharged after recovery including seven patients on Wednesday (four in IGMCRI and three in Mahe). One patient who was under treatment in Delhi has been taken out from the Puducherry list.

Till now, 11356 samples have been tested, of which 10920 have been negative and the test results of 179 are awaited.

The Health Minister said the man who died on Thursday was from Kadiragma and had been admitted to the IGMCRI three days ago. Though he was a diabetic and had hypertension, he was alright, but suddenly developed breathing distress and died of a heart attack within an hour in the wee hours of Thursday.

He said that people should not be under the impression that only those above 60 or 70 years would die of COVID-19 and cautioned everyone to adopt precautionary measures.

IAS officials to be put in charge of specific constituencies

The Health Minister said that secretaries to the government would be placed in charge of specific constituencies to tackle the COVID situation.

Puducherry has 23 IAS officers and each one would be assigned three assembly constituencies for monitoring the situation on a daily basis for one to two hours, said Rao, adding that he would monitor the ground situation, health care and other requirements.

With the rise in cases, this would be required as the health department alone would not be able to manage the situation. The support of all departments would be required as Puducherry reaches the COVID-19 peak, he said.

The manpower and infrastructure in private hospitals have been assessed and private medical colleges have been requested to provide doctors and nurses for serving in IGMCRI, he added.