Two women pilgrims who returned to Tiruvallur on Friday after a pilgrimage to Varanasi have tested positive for COVID-19. The two patients are currently undergoing treatment at the Stanley Medical College Hospital in Chennai.
The two women were part of a group of 127 people who returned to Tiruvallur from Varanasi on Friday. According to the dean of the Stanley Medical College Hospital Dr P Balaji, “The two women a 59-year-old from Perambalur and another 59-year-old woman from Nagapattinam have tested positive for the coronavirus. The women had travelled to Allahabad, Kaasi and Gaya on a pilgrimage from March 15 till the lockdown was announced.”
The nationwide lockdown was announced by the Centre on March 24 to contain the spread of coronavirus. The contract tracing of the patients is being done, said Tiruvallur health department officials.
The pilgrims from various parts of the state including Chennai, Perambalur and Nagapattinam on reaching Tamil Nadu were kept under quarantine without being allowed to go home
On Friday, a report from The Hindu said that around 127 persons, mostly senior citizens, returned from Varanasi via road and reached Tiruvallur district. All the pilgrims were immediately quarantined and samples were taken for COVID-19.
All the pilgrims who were stranded in Uttar Pradesh urged the administration to allow them to their native states as soon as the lockdown was extended to May 3. Accepting the demand, the administration allowed them to travel by road, the report said.
As per the data on Monday, 43 more people tested for COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu taking the tally of the total number of people who tested positive for novel coronavirus in the state to 1,520. Also, two people succumbed to the coronavirus infection at private hospitals taking the total number of deaths to 17. The two new cases have taken the number of positive cases in Tiruvallur to 48.