Fifteen persons, including three employees of a jewellery showroom on Cross Cut Road, tested positive for COVID-19 in Coimbatore on Sunday.
Sources with the district administration said the three persons were among the 30-odd employees of the jewellery group who came from Chennai’s T. Nagar branch to the Coimbatore branch on Cross Road on June 18.
The Cross Cut Road branch of the jewellery was sealed by the Revenue Department on Saturday after authorities found that the employees from Chennai were brought to Coimbatore without obtaining E-pass. The employees were also not kept in quarantine for 14 days on arrival here.
The three persons, who tested positive, were shifted to Government Medical College and ESI Hospital.
Confirming that three employees of the jewellery group tested positive, District Collector K. Rajamani told The Hindu that the employees, who came from Chennai to Coimbatore, belonged to the online sales and software sections of the jewellery group.
As operations of different branches in Chennai is hit due to lockdown restrictions, those employees were brought to Coimbatore.
“Test results of swab samples collected from 208 employees returned negative. As per preliminary findings, they did not have interaction with customers who visited the jewellery. However, efforts are on to trace people who visited the jewellery since they started working here,” said Mr. Rajamani.
Sources said that an industrial pass was used to transport the employees from Chennai to Coimbatore.
Though 208 employees of the jewellery group tested negative, the Health Department was keeping tab on those who are currently in home quarantine.
Other cases
The other cases, who have been tested positive for the disease, have been identified as a 28-year-old man who travelled from Chennai to Coimbatore on June 17, a 68-year-old man from Sirumugai who was admitted to a private hospital, a 21-year-old man from Kalapatti, a 50-year-old man from Vadasithur, a 55-year-old man from Karumbukadai, a 77-year-old man from Velandipalayam, 57-year-old woman from Selvapuram, and a 35-year-old woman from Ramanathapuram.
Two cases were reported from Pollachi area -- 25-year-old man from Suleswaranpatti and a 28-year-old woman from Nadupuni.
A 25-year-old woman and a nine-year-old boy from Annur also tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, said Health Department sources.