Around 25 people including the director and patients at the Institute of Mental Health have tested positive for coronavirus. Most of the patients who tested positive were asymptomatic and they have been isolated at separate wards inside the institute. The symptomatic patients requiring medical attention have been admitted to Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital.
According to reports, most of the people who tested positive were from ward 9 of the Institute of Mental Health. The isolated patients are monitored by a team of doctors of Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital.
The Director of the Institute of Mental Health, Poorna Chandrika, has also tested positive for coronavirus. The reason for the spread of infection is yet to be ascertained.
In a tweet, TMN Deepak, state president of December 3 Movement, said, “It is unfortunate that inmates of Kilpauk Institute of Mental Health have got infected with the coronavirus. Hence we request the Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Health Minister Vijayabaskar to take immediate steps to test all inmates with utmost care. This we are placing as a request.”
As of Wednesday, Tamil Nadu recorded 1, 22,350 positive cases of coronavirus. Of the total, 46,480 patients are currently undergoing treatment in the state. Chennai has recorded 72,500 cases till date, while 1261 patients tested positive on Monday.
However, several reports suggest that the doubling rates of cases have come down in Chennai.
Meanwhile, the residence of Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, Raj Nivas, has been closed after a staffer tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday.
The samples of police personnel and other workers have been sent for testing. All of them are currently kept under isolation. The Raj Nivas has been closed for 48 hours for the disinfection process.
The samples of Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi were sent for testing and have returned negative.
In a tweet, the office of the L-G said, “Health Department has informed us that the COVID-19 test result of Lt.Governor has come back negative. Raj Nivas will adhere to the protocol of keeping the staff —the primary contacts— in home quarantine even though they have been tested negative.”