Chennai: Tamil Nadu on Tuesday saw the steepest single-day rise in the number of patients testing positive for Covid-19 with 57 patients confirmed to have the infection. The total number of patients now stands at 124 of whom six were discharged following recovery and one had died.
Briefing journalists, Health Secretary Beela Rajesh said, “45 of those who tested positive had gone to the religious conference in Delhi Nizamuddin.” Tamil Nadu is now struggling to contain the spread of the pandemic as it has not been able to identify a few hundreds of those who attended the Tablighi Jamaat.
Chief Secretary K Shanmugam said as many as 1,311 persons from the state had returned from Delhi after attending the Jamaat. “Only about 800 of them have been traced, quarantined and are being tested.
The remaining are incommunicado,” he said. Their phone numbers were switched off and all efforts were being made to trace them. Health Secretary appealed to such people to report and get themselves tested in the larger interest of society.
Agencies added that the official maintained the spike in corona positive cases was due to the fact those affected had mingled with others and passed on the infection.
Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Tuesday announced extension in service on temporary contract basis for doctors, nurses and lab technicians set to retire on March 30. Some foreign nationals from Thailand and Indonesia had also attended the conference and then visited Tamil Nadu.
Two Thai nationals tested positive are in hospital. Health officials are screening 1,000 persons who have returned after attending the conference. A sizeable chunk of attendees is from Erode and Coimbatore. Other places where from Muslims had attended the event are Sivaganga, Thanjavur, Nagercoil, Kanyakumari and other places.
