VELLORE: Even as the authorities in district administrations across the state are leaving no stone unturned to check the spread of COVID-19, Vellore and Tirupathur districts on Thursday reported five more positive cases each.
In Vellore, all the five are contacts of men who had already tested positive and had a travel history to Delhi where they attended the Tablighi Jamaat meeting.
“Five new positive cases were reported on Thursday in Vellore. All are in Govt Pentland Hospital and now are being shifted to Govt Vellore Medical College Hospital,” Vellore district collector A Shanmuga Sundaram told reporters.
The new positive cases are from RN Palayam and Karukambathur in Vellore city.
The collector said, “These areas were already cordoned off and these people were already kept in quarantine. We are taking additional steps as per the state government’s protocol.”
Of the five new cases, three are women aged 22, 28 and 60 while one is a 67-year-old man and the other a seven-year-old boy.
With these five, the total positive cases in Vellore district has jumped to 11, apart from one fatality.
A 45-year-old man from Saidapet in Vellore city died of COVID-19 at CMC Hospital on Tuesday hours after his test results came out positive. Relatives alleged that the hospital administration failed to follow the protocol laid down by the government while treating him.
Tirupathur district has also added five more positive cases to its tally on Thursday.
District collector MP Sivanarul went into a huddle with top officials of the concerned government departments and agencies in the evening to discuss enhancing the precautionary measures and stepping up surveillance in the affected areas which include Ambur, Vaniyambadi and Tirupathur town, sources said.