CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu confirmed its third case of COVID-19 with a 21-year-old student testing positive for the disease on Thursday. The student from Dublin in Ireland was screened upon arrival in Chennai on March 17, Health Minister C Vijayabaskar said on Twitter.
"He was screened and home quarantined. Yesterday, he reported to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital with symptoms. His samples were sent for testing and today it was confirmed that he is positive. The patient is stable in isolation," he added.
A senior health department official told Express that the patient was a resident of Virugambakkam in Chennai. He was doing his MBA in Dublin. "When he returned to Chennai via Abu Dhabi he was asymptomatic. He had come around midnight," the official said.
"After going home, he developed symptoms in the evening. He reported to the GH." The official added that total 14 of his contacts had been traced and placed under quarantine. These included his friends and members of his family. The patient had travelled from the airport to his home on his friend's bike.
Second Patient travelled by Tamil Nadu Express: Health officials
Tamil Nadu recorded its second case of COVID-19 on Wednesday when a 20-year-old man from Rampur district in Uttar Pradesh tested positive. He is undergoing treatment at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.
Regarding the second patient, the official said that 41 of his contacts had been traced so far. This included his seven roommates, neighbours and staff at the salon at which he was employed. Seven of the close people have been quarantined at a government facility in Poonamallee.
The rest are under home quarantine. "We also notified the Union Health Ministry about his travel history as he came from Delhi. The patient travelled from Delhi to Chennai on the Tamil Nadu Express and reached Chennai on March 12," the official said.
The first person to test positive for COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu was a 45-year-old man from Kancheepuram. He had arrived in Chennai from Oman on February 28 and had tested positive on March 7. On Wednesday, Vijayabaskar said he had been discharged from Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital after treatment and would be under home quarantine for two weeks.
Third testing facility in Chennai coming up at Stanley Medical College Hospital: Health Minister
Health minister C Vijayabaskar on Thursday said that efforts were underway to set up a COVID-19 testing facility at the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital. He was speaking to reporters at the hospital. Chennai already has two testing centres: one at King Institute and the other at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.