Chennai: With the deadly coronavirus entering Tamilnadu, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami today chaired a high-level meet at the Secretariat here, during which he directed officials to act on war-footing and take all necessary steps to check its spread.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, Ministers and higher officials. Steps that were already taken by the government and measures to be followed were discussed in detail, sources said.
Meanwhile, the man from Kanchipuram, who was found affected by the virus, is said to be stable. He is under constant watch of doctors at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital. Around 1,100 persons are under medical scanner in Tamilnadu, reports said. Health Minister C Vijayabaskar has said people need not worry as the government has taken all steps to prevent the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, three new cases of coronavirus have been reported in the country, taking the number of cases to 42, Union Health Ministry officials said today. One new case each has been reported from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, the officials said, adding that no deaths have been reported yet.
The Health Ministry is yet to confirm the case of a three-year-child in Kerala. Officials in Kochi said on Monday that the child, who has returned from Italy with its parents, has tested positive for the disease.
The child and its parents who had reached the Cochin International Airport Limited at 6 am on March 7 from Italy were subjected to thermal screening at the universal surveillance system established, officials said.
Detecting symptoms of coronavirus in the child, they were immediately referred to isolation ward of the Kalamassery Medical College Hospital, they said. The samples of the child sent for examination at the NiV lab at Alappuzha have tested positive for Coronavirus, they said.
The samples of the parents have also been sent for lab test, the officials added. Five fresh coronavirus cases, including three who evaded screening on return from Italy, were reported in Kerala, prompting the government on Sunday to sound a renewed alert and warn action against those hiding travel history to affected nations.
Meanwhile in Karnataka, a person who reached Mangaluru at the international airport from Dubai was admitted to the isolation ward of a hospital here after he was found to have high fever and some symptoms of coronavirus infection.
District Health Officer Sikandar Pasha said the patient will be kept under observation for the next 24 hours. The passenger, who arrived on Sunday, will be discharged if routine tests for covid-19 were found to be negative.
Naveen Kulal, District Surveillance Officer, said the person has been kept in the isolation ward of the district Wenlock hospital as a precautionary measure. The patient has a high fever, but there is only a little chance of covid-19 infection, he added.
More than 30,000 people undergone screening at the Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) in the last 15 days. All passengers arriving at the international terminal are being screened as per the guidelines issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Civil Aviation Ministry, Airport Director V V Rao said. Meanwhile, 10 flights in Chennai have been cancelled due to corona scare, reports said. The flights belong to multiple airlines and were scheduled towards various destinations.