After 10 days, fresh cases dip below 500

After 10 days, fresh cases dip below 500

15/05/2020

Chennai’s tally climbed to 5,637 with 363 new patients even as two more persons — in their 40s — died. The toll in the State now stands at 66.

A 43-year-old resident of Chennai, admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital on May 8, died on Thursday due to respiratory failure/pneumonia. He had chronic kidney disease and was on dialysis. He also had chronic hepatitis C infection and systemic hypertension. The second patient, a 45-year-old woman, had diabetes, systemic hypertension and hypothyroidism. She was admitted to RGGGH on May 7 and died on May 13 due to acute respiratory distress syndrome/respiratory failure.

Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar said that the State’s mortality rate was among the lowest in the country. It currently stands at 0.68%. “World Health Organisation’s (WHO) chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan and a panel of medical experts, while giving their views on the State’s strategy, appreciated that testing more is good as it makes early diagnosis possible. Through this, we can admit patients and provide proper treatment. Though several States are affected, T.N. accounts for a low mortality rate due to comprehensive treatment, high testing numbers, early diagnosis and proper clinical management,” he said.

Major challenges

One of the biggest challenges for doctors was treating high-risk patients with COVID-19. "We have been able to keep the mortality rate low among high-risk patients too," he said. Those with co-morbid conditions should continue their treatment and take appropriate medications, he added. He said the total number of active cases, including those in isolation, stood at 7,365.

A total of 11,965 samples were tested during the day. “Till now, we have tested 2,91,432 samples in the State. The State has taken up aggressive testing, and accounts for the highest number of testing facilities. The number of laboratories has increased to 58 — 38 in the government and 20 in the private sector — today,” the Minister said. Two more private laboratories — Bioline Laboratory, Coimbatore, and Premier Health Centre, Chennai — have been approved.

“A total of 19 lakh samples have been tested in the country. As we speak, the testing numbers would have crossed three lakh in T.N. We are testing as per the guidelines of WHO and Indian Council of Medical Research,” he said.

The Minister added that 64 persons were discharged from hospitals on Thursday. With this, a total of 2,240 persons have been discharged in the State.

Apart from Chennai, there were 15 cases in Tiruvallur, nine in Chengalpattu, eight cases each in Kancheepuram and Tiruvannamalai, five in Kanniyakumari, four in Perambalur, three in Tirunelveli, two in Madurai and one each in Dindigul, Karur, Ramanathapuram, Tenkasi, Theni and Thoothukudi. In addition, 24 persons who returned from other States and international returnees tested positive.

(*This is inclusive of two deaths cross-notified to other States and one patient who died after testing negative for the infection)