PUDUCHERRY: With the number of COVID-19 cases surging, 44 patients who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms have been shifted from the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute (IGMCRI) to COVID care centres at Mahatma Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Dental Sciences and Arupadai Veedu Medical College (AVMC), Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao said.
While 25 patients have been shifted to AVMC which has created a COVID care centre for 50 patients, 19 has been shifted to the dental college. Other medical colleges are also in the process of creating the facility, said the minister. The patients would not be charged. They will be under observation and in case of severe symptoms, they will be brought back to IGMCRI for treatment, he said, adding that this will reduce the load in IGMCRI.
There have been 30 new COVID-19 cases in the UT in the last 24 hours taking the total tally to 534 in the UT. Releasing this information on Friday, Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao said while 27 cases were from Puducherry region, three were from Karaikal region.
Presently, 322 persons are undergoing treatment, of which 299 are in Puducherry region (210 at the Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Research Institute (IGMCRI) and 87 at JIPMER), 21 in Karaikal GH and one each in Yanam GH, Mahe GH, Cuddalore GH and Chidambaram.
In all, 203 patients have been discharged after recovery including 16 on Friday. The fatalities remain at nine. Till now, 14267 samples have been tested, of which 13474 have been negative and the test results of 261 are awaited.