CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu on Thursday reported 75 new COVID-19 cases taking the total number of cases in the State to 309. Of the 75 cases, 74 are linked to the Tablighi Jamaat conference held in New Delhi in March.
Speaking to reporters, Health Secretary Beela Rajesh said that of the 309 cases reported in the State so far, 264 were linked to the Delhi conference.
So far seven people have been discharged after treatment in the State, she added.
"Samples have been taken from all 1,103 people who returned from the conference and the result is awaited for some of them. The number of districts affected has increased from 15 to 19. The government has engaged 4,585 field workers in containment activities," she said.
The health secretary was asked why the State government took almost 10 days to appeal for people who attended the Delhi conference to come forward for testing when the first case from the conference was reported on March 21.
In response, Beela Rajesh said, "There were a lot of challenges and we have been meticulously tracing all the contacts and step by step only we could identify these cases."
She added that Tamil Nadu is still in stage 2 of the epidemic and had not progressed to stage 3 (community transmission) to necessitate testing for all with fever and cough.
The aim of the government is to increase testing in the lockdown period and also develop infrastructure, apart from stocking medicines, and providing training to medical staff, she said.
"Also we are doing a projection study on how the disease has progressed in foreign countries and how much time it took the cases to grow," the health secretary said.
"At present, there are 17 testing labs, including private labs, and six labs will be set up. The Chief Minister’s aim is to open labs in all the districts," Beela Rajesh added.
The health secretary said all positive patients undergoing treatment in hospitals are stable and no one is critical.
With regards to safety equipment for medical staff, Beela Rajesh said the State has adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), masks and testing kits.
All doctors, staff nurses and other healthcare providers are being given 20 minutes training on a daily basis on how to wear the PPE, she added.
It may be noted that the State had reported 110 positive cases on Tuesday, all linked to the Tablighi Jamaat conference in Delhi.