Eighteen more people tested positive for Covid-19 at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) on Friday, taking the total number of infections on the campus to 30.
On Thursday, Tamil Nadu health secretary J Radhakrishnan had said that 12 people at IIT-M were found to be infected with the virus and were quarantined on the campus. “As of now they don’t require hospital treatment. All their oxygen levels are correct,” he added.
Tamil Nadu on Thursday reported 39 fresh COVID-19 cases, pushing the caseload to 34,53,390 as the state continued to witness an increasing trend.
The number of deaths remained 38,025 with zero fatalities being recorded in the last 24 hours, a medical bulletin said.
Taking note of the rise in new cases, the government directed the health department to step up testing of samples to around 25,000 a day from the present 18,000 cases.
Reiterating his comments about following safety guidelines, the Health Secretary cited the surge in cases in other countries and noted that people should take the spread as a lesson and should no longer postpone getting vaccinated.
Ma Subramanian, Minister for Health and Family Welfare, said the majority of those who tested positive for the virus have come from other states. He added that taking into account that still two crore people are due for their vaccinations in Tamil Nadu, for the first time in the country, a special mega vaccination camp will be arranged at one lakh places across the state on May 8 from 7 am till 7 pm.
(For more updates stay tuned with DNP India)
