Tamil Nadu reports second positive COVID-19 case

Tamil Nadu on Wednesday reported its second positive case of COVID-19 with a 20-year-old youth hailing from Uttar Pradesh, who travelled here on a train from Delhi, testing positive for the virus.

The patient, who came here in search of a job, has been quarantined at the isolation ward of the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGH) here and his condition is said to be stable.

The fresh positive case was reported on a day the first patient, who tested for COVID-19 virus on March 7 but tested negative in subsequent diagnosis, was discharged from hospital and placed under 14-day home quarantine.

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The second patient, hailing from Rampur district in UP, boarded a train from Delhi on March 10 night and reached here on March 12 morning. The 20-year-old youth, who developed fever, reported to the RGGH on March 17 following which he was admitted, and his blood samples taken.

“He has tested positive for COVID-19 virus and he has been isolated. The patient is a North Indian and hails from Delhi. He came to Chennai by a train,” Health Minister C Vijayabhaskar told a press conference.

However, the Minister refused to share more details on whether the patient had a travel history to affected countries or came in contact with anyone who returned from abroad. Vijayabhaskar said the patient’s travel history from Delhi to Chennai will be traced and all those who came in contact will be identified and isolated.

He said the patient is being monitored by an expert team at the RGGH, which has an exclusive COVID-19 fever clinic. The first patient, a 45-year-old man with travel history to the Gulf region, has recovered fully and was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday.

“The first COVID-19positive patient has been discharged from RGGH, Chennai. He has completely recovered from the illness and back home. He will be home quarantined for 2 weeks,” Vijayabhaskar tweeted.

The state has so far tested 222 people and has put 2,984 under home quarantine and 32 in hospitals after screening. “Of 222, 168 are processed. While 166 samples were tested negative, two have come positive (including one discharged),” according to daily update from the Health Department.

Vijayabhaskar said the state has so far screened 1,89,750 passengers at four airports in the state – Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore and Tiruchirappalli.

Meanwhile, a 23-year-old woman college student, who had returned from Bengaluru, was admitted to the Government Hospital in Coimbatore, even as five people are already under observation with COVID-19 symptoms.