Coimbatore: Coronavirus spreads from RG Pudur cluster, officials on high alert

COIMBATORE: Six more new cases were reported from RG Pudur Covid-19 cluster on Thursday. The cluster also showed signs of spreading, with two people from Mylampatti, just 3km away from RG Pudur, testing positive for the virus. Officials have stepped up the efforts to trace contacts of the secondary positive cases in the area.
In total, the district reported 18 new novel coronavirus cases on Thursday. While five of them were either contacts of positive cases or have a travel history, nine were local cases with no identified source of infection.
Of the six cases reported from the new cluster, two - a 53-year-old woman and a 20-year-old man working in foundries – were residents of RG Pudur and the remaining four comprise a 40-year-old textile shop owner, his 35-year-old wife and two sales boys at his shop.
A health department official said, “The textile shop is located within 1km radius of the mill quarters. Its owner, a 40-year-old man, lives in Mylampatti, near Sulur, along with his 35-year-old wife. The sales boys were living in Chinniampalayam. They voluntarily went to Vilankurichi primary health centre and gave samples.”
Health officials have now asked the city corporation to cordon off Chinniampalayam as much as possible. “Since people within a 1km radius have tested positive for the virus, including two from another foundry, we have asked local bodies to restrict public movement in those areas. We will also send teams to Mylampatti on Friday to trace the contacts of the shop owner and his wife,” the official said.
Three of the new cases - a 39-year-old woman from Sidhanapuram, 82-year-old woman from Podanur and a 33-year-old man from Telugupalayam – were tested for the virus when they went to the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital. They have been shifted to the ESI Hospital.
Another three – a 70-year-old man from Samathur, 67-year-old man from Anamalai and an 82-year-old man from Subbe Goundanputhur – were tested positive for Covid-19 during a screening for the vulnerable population. They also have been admitted to the ESI Hospital.
“We are fortunate to identify old people with the virus at the initial stages of infection. Contact tracing of all the above patients will be done,” the official said.
A 54-year-old man from Ramanathapuram, who recently returned from Ooty; a three-year-old girl, who returned from Chennai via flight and whose father turned positive; and three contacts of positive patients in Udayampalayam and Saravanampatti are also among the new cases.