242 people who returned from China isolated in Tamil Nadu

As many as 242 people from Tamil Nadu who recently visited China have been isolated and are being “closely observed” by medical teams to check whether they have contracted the deadly Coronavirus which has claimed over 200 lives in the Communist nation.

Two people, one from Tambaram in Chennai and another from Tiruvannamalai district, have been admitted in government hospitals after they complained of fever following their return from China. The Tamil Nadu government has formed teams in government hospitals in select cities to treat patients with Coronavirus.

Health Minister C Vijayabhaskar said the government has also secured permission to test samples at King Institute in Chennai, the only second such facility in the country. He also asked people not to panic as the government has taken enough precautionary measures to ensure the virus does not spread.

“There is nothing to worry. All precautions have been taken. 242 people who recently returned from China have been isolated but there are no signs of the virus in any of them. And we will have testing facility in Chennai only the second city after Pune to get in India. So, there is nothing to worry,” Vijayabhaskar told a press conference.

A number of students from across Tamil Nadu travel to several cities in China to pursue their medical and higher education. More than 20 people hailing from Pudukkottai district have returned home from China and all have been isolated but none of them have so far shown any symptoms of having contracted the virus.

In Chennai, a young woman who returned from China complained of fever and she has been admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital (RGGH). “The girl returned from Hong Kong recently and she is under observation because she complained of fever. But so far there are no symptoms of Corona virus in her. But she has been kept under observation,” Dr R Jayanthi, Dean, RGGH, said on Friday.