2 die in 1 day in TN; virus has no religion or caste, says EPS

Pushpa Narayan, Julie Mariappan & Jaya Menon TNN

Chennai:5.4.2020

Chief minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami on Saturday appealed to people not to paint the Covid-19 outbreak in communal colours as the state registered two more deaths and 73 more Covid-19 positive cases linked to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi last month. TN had 74 fresh positive cases in all, taking its Covid-19 positive tally to 485, with 437 from the TJ cluster.

A 51-year-old school headmaster, who participated in the Tablighi Jamaat conference in Delhi, died at the Villupuram medical college hospital in the morning of respiratory failure. By afternoon, a 53-year-old woman, whose husband had who attended the Delhi meet, died at the Theni medical college hospital.

“The virus can affect anyone regardless of caste and religion,” the CM said in a statement. He said people should avoid looking at the infected people and families with disgust. Instead, they should treat them with love and compassion accepting that it could happen to anyone. “People should avoid religious events in accordance with the prohibitory order. They should adhere to social distancing norms to prevent the spread of the disease,” the CM said.

“Community leaders are requested to provide necessary facilities in schools, colleges and other buildings owned by them for quarantining people. They shall inform the Greater Chennai Corporation commissioner and district collectors,” the chief minister said.

Man who died on Thursday was +ve

Samples of a 71-year-old man, who died at Stanley hospital of acute respiratory distress syndrome on Thursday, returned positive for Covid-19 on Saturday. His body was taken to Keelakarai in Ramnad district for burial. Officials were tracking all those who travelled with the body and those who took part in the last rites. The directorate of public health revised protocol makes it mandatory for all SARS deaths to be considered as Covid-19 until tests show they are negative.

More than 23 lakh people screened in containment areas in TN: Health secretary

Health minister C Vijayabaskar said all patients who show symptoms of flu in the containment regions across the state will be moved into isolation or quarantine units.

Until Friday, the Tamil Nadu government recorded 364 Covid-19 positive cases among the 1,130 Tablighi Jamaat members who returned to the state after attending a three-day conference in New Delhi from March 21.

Among the 400 people who remained in Delhi, two have died, one a man from Sirkali in Nagapattinam district and another from Namakkal.

On Saturday, the number of people screened in the containment areas across tTamil Nadu went beyond 23 lakh from seven lakh households, health secretary Beela Rajesh told reporters.

The state health department has now asked the Chennaibased National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE), to study why many of the infected remain asymptomatic.

“They will be putting 45 of their employees on the job to track the source of the infection, the modus and its effect. They will also compare the morbidity and mortality rates in similar clusters abroad,” the health secretary said.