KRISHNAGIRI: Nearly 55 days after first COVID-19 positive case was reported in Tamil Nadu, Krishnagiri, the state's only green zone district, has reported its first positive case on Saturday. A 67-year-old man from Veppanahalli, who returned from Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh, was tested positive for the coronavirus.
Confirming this, Krishnagiri district collector S Prabhakar told The New Indian Express, “A 67-year-old man near Veppanahalli along with four persons went to Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh and returned on April 25. All were screened at the border check post and asked to remain under home quarantine. In this situation, sample was taken from sexagenarian on April 29 and sent it to the Institute of Vector Control and Zoonoses, Hosur, which announced test result as positive on Saturday.”
Seconding him, Deputy Director of Health Services V Govindan said after the sexagenarian was tested positive samples of eight of his family members were taken on Friday night and sent it to Hosur for testing.
Among the four other members, who accompanied the infected persons, three are from Krishnagiri town and one from Kaveripattinam. Now, all these three areas are brought under the containment zone - which will now be sealed and disinfected.
The five-member team returned to Krishnagiri from Andhra Pradesh, after getting vehicle pass from the authorities in Puttaparthi. They had started their pilgrimage before the 21-day national lockdown was declared by the Prime Minister. The other four members, however, tested negative.