CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Minister for Electricity P Thangamani on Wednesday tested positive for COVID-19. He is the second minister to contract the virus after Higher Education Minister KP Anbazhagan.
Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, in a tweet, said Thangamani has been admitted to a hospital for treatment and wished him a speedy recovery. DMK president MK Stalin in a tweet said he had called up Thangamani to enquire about his health and wished him a speedy recovery.
Sources close to Thangamani said the minister and his son have been admitted to a private hospital in the city on Wednesday morning. "Every week, the minister used to undergo a COVID-19 test as a precaution. Last evening, he underwent this test. This morning, the hospital confirmed that he had tested positive. The minister was asymptomatic," the sources added.
Thangamani took part in a couple of official events relating to his department on Tuesday at the secretariat which were also attended by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, Chief Secretary K Shanmugam and a few senior officials.
However, official sources said he did not take part in the meeting between the Chief Minister and Union Minister of State for Power, RK Singh, which took place at the secretariat on Wednesday.
Former minister and senior AIADMK functionary B Valarmathi had tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. Earlier, AIADMK MLAs K Palani (Sriperumbudur), Amman K Arjunan (Coimbatore South), N Sathan Prabhakar (Paramakudi) and R Kumaraguru (Ulundurpet) had tested positive for this infection.
DMK MLAs KS Masthan (Gingee), RT Arasu (Cheyyur) Vasanatham K Karthikeyan (Rishivandhiyam) and J Anbazhagan (Tirvallikkeni-Chepauk) had also tested positive, with Anbazhagan succumbing to the virus last month.