Distribution of aid tokens to ration cardholders capped at 100 a day

It may take 10 to 15 days to cover all the ration cards in the State

31/03/2020,T. RAMAKRISHNAN   CHENNAI

Best practices: Social distancing norms being followed at a ration shop in Dindigul.G. KARTHIKEYANG_KARTHIKEYAN

Having commenced the distribution of tokens to ration cardholders ahead of Thursday’s launch of the provision of cash support and essential commodities free-of-cost in view of the COVID-19 crisis, the Civil Supplies Department is planning to cover a maximum of 100 persons a day.

Given the average figure of 1,000-1,500 cards per shop, it may take 10 to 15 days to cover all the cards. The plan is that the tokens will be delivered at the cardholders’ doorstep. The issuance of tokens had begun, a senior official of the department said.

Last week, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami announced that all rice-drawing cardholders would get cash support of ₹1,000 and free rice, pulses, edible oil and sugar in April, in a measure aimed at mitigating the hardship being endured by people due to the COVID-19 threat. There are 2.01 crore ration cards in the State.

While the staff at every shop will be wearing masks and gloves, sanitisers will also be kept ready for use. Norms of social distancing will be adhered to, the official said.

Those who wish to give up either the cash support of ₹1,000 or the free rice or any other commodity can do so either through the website (https://www.tnpds.gov.in/ ) or the mobile app of the department.

Meanwhile, the idea of reaching out to the needy is gaining currency, as opposed to making people visit government offices for assistance. Former Director-General of Police V. Vaikunth, who also held the post of Director (Civil Defence), recalled that during the 1978-79 floods in the State, three mobile integrated aid units — one with medicines, the second with provisions and the third with vegetables — were sent to every affected area, be it a panchayat union or a municipality. They were supported by the Police Department’s communication system. A similar arrangement could be made now, he suggested. Mr. Vaikunth, who bagged the President’s Medal for distinguished service in Civil Defence and Home Guards, volunteered to donate funds from his trust for the purpose, besides providing training to interested officials.

25 of 67 patients directly or indirectly linked to Thai nationals

Clustering of cases catches Health Department off guard

31/03/2020, SERENA JOSEPHINE M. ,CHENNAI

Twenty-five of the 67 persons who have tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Tamil Nadu are either directly or indirectly linked to two Thai nationals who had tested positive on March 21.

This clustering of cases has come as a surprise to the State’s Health Department, which had brought all those who had arrived from China, the U.S., the Middle East and Europe under surveillance.

The two Thai nationals, identified as patients 5 and 6, are undergoing treatment at IRT, Perundurai. They were part of a large group of people from countries including Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, France and Congo, who had visited the State for an annual pilgrimage, officials said.

A 54-year-old man, who had tested positive and died at the Government Rajaji Hospital, Madurai, had received the Thai nationals. Patient no. 26 — a 63-year-old man — was their co-traveller, while two others, including a 42-year-old man and a 46-year-old, were among their contacts.

Three family members of the deceased have also tested positive for COVID-19. A 29-year-old doctor, who tested positive on Sunday, was declared a contact of the 26th patient. Her 10-month-old baby, mother and maid also reportedly tested positive.

On the same day, four persons from Erode with a travel history to Delhi tested positive. On Monday, 10 men, all from Erode and with a travel history to Delhi, tested positive. They had come into contact with the two Thai nationals.

“This was an unexpected turn of the trajectory. We had successfully brought persons who had travelled from China, the Middle East, the U.S. and Europe under surveillance. There was no spill-over. Nevertheless, these persons were on their annual pilgrimage and we have traced the places they had visited, and where persons have tested positive,” an official said.

“Of the 165 persons who had arrived here, 76 have returned to their country. Apart from them, the department has been tracing around 1,500 persons who had travelled from various parts of Tamil Nadu to Nizamuddin, Delhi, to attend a conference. They have tracked and quarantined 819 persons, who had returned to the State. Those with symptoms were moved to isolation facilities and asymptomatic persons are in quarantine centres, while their family members are under home quarantine,” the official added.

“Those who had come here from abroad had visited areas in districts such as Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupattur, Salem, Erode, Madurai, Dindigul, Tenkasi, Ramanathapuram, Nagapattinam, Sivaganga and Kancheepuram. We have taken up massive containment measures in a five-km radius in the identified areas, and it is a challenge to [exercise] control before the lockdown comes to an end,” he said.

Active cooperation

All those who had been identified and quarantined were cooperating with the department. “In fact, they are actively cooperating in tracing their contacts,” he said.

According to sources, this clustering of cases from the confirmed cases of COVID-19 linked to the two Thai nationals was totally unexpected. “What we are seeing is clustering among contacts, and not community transmission. In many other cases, it is the family contacts of COVID-19 patients who have tested positive. The chances are high that such transmission could happen among family members,” a source said.

While officials are tracking those who had attended the conference in Delhi, the District Collectors have also been alerted to trace them. Some of them have been traced to Erode, Coimbatore and Tiruppur.

Next two weeks are critical, say government officials

More number of tests will be done as protocol has been revised

31/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

Senior government officials have said the next two weeks will be critical, as more number of tests will be carried out since the protocol to deal with COVID-19 has been revised.

“The protocol has been revised to include testing of patients with severe acute respiratory illnesses for COVID-19. So, persons with pneumonia or other symptoms, who have gone unnoticed so far, will be tested. The current measures should continue to be implemented without laxity,” a senior bureaucrat said.

Home quarantine

A total of 74,533 persons, including passengers from other countries, are under home quarantine for 28 days in the State. While Chennai accounts for the highest number of persons under home quarantine, at 16,767,

Erode tops cases

Erode has the highest number of COVID-19 patients — 24 out of a total of 67.

The total number of samples lifted for testing stands at 2,040. Of these, 120 are being processed. As many as 1,920 samples have returned negative and 67 positive for COVID-19, according to a bulletin issued by the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.

An official said a majority of those under home quarantine had completed the 28-day quarantine period.

“It is now important that those who are presently under home quarantine compulsorily follow the instructions for the next two weeks. People should cooperate with us,” he said.

Sixth patient discharged

Meanwhile, a sixth person who had tested positive for COVID-19 was discharged from hospital.

A 25-year-old woman, who was admitted to the isolation ward of the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, was discharged from hospital.

According to officials, the woman was discharged after two consecutive samples — nasal and throat swabs — returned negative.

Already, three patients who were admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital and two patients, aged 70 and 64, who were admitted to the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital, have been discharged after treatment.

As of date, a total of 364 persons are in isolation wards in various hospitals across the State. As many as 79 asymptomatic passengers from highly affected countries are being quarantined in designated centres.

‘No extension in lockdown’

31/03/2020

Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba has denied that the Centre had plans to extend the three-week lockdown, which is scheduled to end on April 14. “There are rumours & media reports, claiming that the government will extend the #Lockdown21 when it expires. The Cabinet Secretary has denied these reports, and stated that they are baseless,” a tweet from the official Press Information Bureau handle said on Monday.

Migrant workers given mass disinfectant bath in Bareilly

Action ordered against officials; those exposed to chemical to be examined

31/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,LUCKNOW

Hosed down: Healthcare workers spraying disinfectants on migrant workers in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, on Monday. PTI

Migrant labourers returning to Bareilly were forced by the district administration to take a open-air bath with a disinfectant before being allowed entry into the district.

Sodium hypochlorite solution, commonly used as a bleaching agent to remove stains, was used on the migrants, officials later admitted.

Footage of the incident showed the group of migrants, including women, squatting on the road near a checkpoint in as officials in protective gear sprayed the solution through a hose pipe on them. While at least two officials film the incident, one of them is heard asking the migrants to close their eyes, telling them that the solution affects the face.

The nodal officer for COVID-19 control in Bareilly, Ashok Gautam, said the administration did spray the migrants with liquid disinfectant, but insisted it was not a chemical solution. He said the administration had taken the step following the arrival of several hundred migrants.. “We tried to keep them safe; asked them to shut their eyes,” he said.

Following the incident, District Magistrate Nitish Kumar ordered action against the officials concerned. The district chief medical officer was asked to conduct a medical check of persons exposed to the liquid.

Virus wreaks havoc on big, fat weddings

Mar 31, 2020, 04.15 AM IST

Coimbatore: S Meenakshi and P Karuppusamy were planning to tie the knot at a marriage hall in Telugupalayam near the city in the presence of more than 1,000 relatives.

But, as the country went under the 21-day lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19, the families of the bride and the groom decided to make it a low-key affair. The couple got married on Monday at a temple in Kalampalayam near Perur here in the presence of 15 relatives. Everyone, including the priest who solemnised the wedding, wore a mask.

Though they did not get married in a grand way, they had to accept it as it was for the greater good, the couple said. Thanks to the simple ceremony, the bride’s family was also able to save around Rs 5lakh.

Several marriages scheduled for Monday, an auspicious day, were either held at homes or at temples. D Pushparaj and A Vijayalakshmi got married at a temple in Gandhi Park in the city as did Hari and Nikila, who got hitched at a temple in Chinniyampalayam in the presence of a few close relatives. All of them wore masks.

A Saibaba Colony-based couple, whose families had decided to get them married at a grand event in a marriage hall here, on Monday conducted the simple ceremony at their home in the presence of their parents and grandparents. “We had not anticipated this. But it was a different experience. We have decided to host a reception later for our extended family and friends,” the groom said.

Kulithalai native is 67th Covid-19 patient in TN

TNN | Mar 31, 2020, 04.16 AM IST

Trichy: A 42-year-old man from Kulithalai in Karur district has tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday. He is the 67th patient to test positive in Tamil Nadu.

The patient, a native of Kulithalai and with a recent travel history to Delhi, is a resident of Chengalpet district. He came to Kulithalai on March 24 to meet his mother and elder brother. He developed symptoms the very next day and approached the primary health centre and was shifted to Karur medical college hospital on March 26, where he is stable and under observation in the isolation ward.

There are currently four patients under observation in the isolation ward of the Karur medical college hospital, who are awaiting test results.

Speaking to TOI, Karur collector T Anbalagan said the patient did not travel abroad in recent months. “There is no clear-cut evidence of community transmission so far. We believe that it might be stage 2 transmission during his travel from New Delhi,” he said.

“Whether the transmission took place in New Delhi or on the flight is yet to be ascertained. He started from Chennai to Delhi on March 18 and reached on March 20. He stayed there for three days and on March 24 he took an early morning flight to Chennai and came to Kulithalai in the evening,” said the collector.

Soon after the patient was tested positive, revenue officials along with department of public health and preventive medicine swung into action in Kulithalai. “The whole area including the specific street where the patient was residing was disinfected along with adjoining areas,” said a senior revenue official from Kulithai.

We have started the containment exercise and we are also searching for people who came in close contact with the patient, said the official. “We are trying to trace contacts so that community transmission can be prevented,” added the official.