14 COVID-19 positive cases in Pondy, tally rises to 216

Puducherry, June 16 dmanewsdesk:  Puducherry reported 14 fresh COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours taking the aggregate in the union territory to 216, while the toll remained four.

Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao told reporters on Tuesday thatthe total active cases now stood at 113 while 99 patients were treated and discharged so far.

A medical bulletin released by the department of Health and family Welfare services said the number of patients who succumbed to infection stood at four.

While 11 of the new cases were admitted to the Indira Gandhi Medical college hospital in neighbouring Kadirkamam, one was admitted to centrally administered JIPMER and two patients were admitted to the Government in GH in Karaikal, the Minister said.

The 14 new cases included a doctor from JIPMER and five more workers of a private factory manufacturing masks in neighbouring Mettuapalaym from where already six workers were admitted to the hospital for infection a few days ago, he said.

The territorial administration would take a call on intensifying the lockdown after the video conference to be held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Chief Minister’s of all states and UTs, later in the day.

Fearing that the number of COVID-19 cases would spike in the next few months, Rao said already Puducherry was registering as many as 10 positive cases on an average every day.

He felt that the administration should take a “harsh” decision including levy of fine ranging between Rs 500 and Rs 1000 from those breaching the lockdown norms.

Rao said the government was evolving steps to strengthen infrastructures in the rural and urban hospitals to rise to any exigency.

Health Secretary Prashanth Kumar Panda, who was also present, said the growth rate in occurrence of the pandemic in Puducherry was causing concern.

He said that there was every need to ramp up infrastructure facilities in the outlying regions of Karaikal and Mahe while the facilities in the capital of the Union Territory was found to be good.

Director of Health and Family Welfare services S Mohan Kumar said the 113 active cases in the whole Union Territory included 77 peoplein government medical college hospital in Puducherry and 26 were taking treatment in JIPMER.

Of the 10,486 samples tested so far 10,231 tested negative and the results of the tests of remaining samples were awaited.

While three containment zones were removed from the list of containment zones eleven new zones were declared as containment zones in Puducherry, he said.

Source: PTI