MAYILADUTHURAI: Two persons tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, taking the total number to 48 in the district. A 59-year-old farmer from Thiruvavaduthurai village in Kuthalam block tested positive 17 days after he returned from a pilgrimage to Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh. Another patient was a 27-year-old youth from Tharangambadi. The man had returned to Mayiladuthurai on April 24 along with a group of 38 people.
“He was in contact with one farmer from Uluthukkuppai who was tested positive earlier this month. In the first test, the man tested negative. We took his samples and sent for a second test on May 11, in which he was tested positive,” said Dr Liyakath Ali, an epidemiologist. Nanathavanatheru village of Thiruvavuthurai village, where the farmer hails, was brought under containment zone on Wednesday. Meanwhile, officials are tracing travel and contact history of 29-year-old youth from Ponsei village in Sembanarkoil block. It is said that he had recently been to a private hospital in Thanjavur for treatment of his relative and later went to Mayiladuthurai government general hospital for a test.