1. Unable to Find Source of Infection for 23 Cases: TN Chief Secy
The Department of Health and Family Welfare has not been able to directly establish the source of infection for 23 COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu so far, Chief Secretary K Shanmugam said on Friday. The Chief Secretary’s comments come a day after Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami said there is a possibility of the state going into stage 3 of the COVID-19 spread - community transmission.
Meanwhile, 77 new cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in the state on Friday, of which 70 are linked to a single source event, directly or indirectly. This puts the total number of cases in Tamil Nadu at 911.
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2. Doctor in Nagapattinam Tests Positive for COVID-19, Clinic Sealed
The district administration has sealed a private hospital run by a doctor after he tested positive for COVID-19. The doctor who had returned from USA about 20 days ago, is the 12th COVID-19 positive patient in the district. The doctor's residence and clinic have been made containment zones.
After detecting symptoms, the doctor reportedly got himself tested at the Nagapattinam Government Hospital. He is said to have opted to check into a private hospital. The Health Department is in the process of tracing the patients he had treated at the clinic, and other contacts. The identified patients will be asked to undergo isolation and testing, Health Department sources said.
(Source: The Hindu)
3. Tamil Nadu COVID-19 Expert Panel Recommends Two-Week Lockdown Extension
The Expert Committee of medical experts constituted to track the spread of COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu on Friday recommended to Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami to extend the ongoing lockdown by two weeks beyond 14 April.
“Despite all the efforts taken by the government, cases [of COVID-19] have been increasing so far…All the doctors [on the 19-member panel] feel that it would be good if the lockdown is extended for 14 more days. This is among the recommendations of the committee,” a panel spokesperson told journalists at the Secretariat in Chennai in the afternoon. On Thursday Palaniswami had said the recommendations of the Expert Committee, as well as that of the 12 coordination teams, set up to combat COVID-19 would be taken into consideration before deciding on extending the lockdown.
(Source: The Hindu)
4. No More Disinfectant Tunnels to Come Up in TN, Says Govt
After speculations about the effectiveness of disinfectant tunnels and the possible harm they might cause, it is learnt that the state government has instructed not to install any more tunnels. Also, they have asked to dilute the concentration of disinfectant being used in the tunnels currently.
Since most tunnels have been using Sodium/Calcium Hypochlorite or Hydrogen peroxide, people raised concerns about the harmful effect these chemicals might have on the human body. In a meeting with experts that was chaired by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday, it was pointed out that there is no scientific proof of the effectiveness of these tunnels. While at low dosages, these chemicals will have not any effect on the virus or other microorganisms, if chemicals are used at higher concentration, it will result in irritation to the eyes and skin.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
5. Private Transporters Won’t Be Able to Pay Salaries for Next Two Months, Association Says
The private transport industry will not be able to pay salaries to employees for the next two months and needs government support to tide over the situation, A. Afzal, president Tamil Nadu Omni Bus Owners Association said. “Till mid-March the collections were coming and we had funds to pay the salaries. But now that operations have come to a standstill, it would be difficult to pay salaries. We have to retain employees and they won’t come back if we don’t pay salaries,” he said.
The government has funds in the form of pension, provident fund and employee benefit funds which can be released to registered transport operators to enable payment of salaries, he said.
(Source: The Hindu)
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