Ma Subramanian said he would write a letter to the Centre in this connection stating passengers should mandatorily undergo RT-PCR testing on completion of home isolation and only then they should be allowed to go out in public.
(PTI)Chennai, Tamil Nadu Live News: As many as 28 people who have arrived from ‘high-risk’ and ‘non-risk’ countries have tested positive for both Covid-19 positive and S-gene drop to date, thereby raising the suspicion of being infected by Omicron, Tamil Nadu Minister Ma Subramanian said on Friday. The Minister for Medical and Family Welfare said the samples of the 28 passengers have been sent for genomic sequencing.
Talking to reporters in Chennai, Subramanian said he would seek the Centre’s approval to hold mandatory RT-PCR tests for passengers arriving from ‘non-risk’ countries on completion of their seven-day home quarantine. Currently, travellers arriving from ‘high-risk’ countries undergo RT-PCR testing at the international airport while the Health Department randomly conducts RT-PCR sampling of 2 per cent of passengers arriving from ‘non-risk’ countries.
Meanwhile, days after the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court quashed an FIR filed against YouTuber Maridhas by the Madurai city cybercrime police, Tamil Nadu police arrested him in the third case, which was registered by the previous AIADMK regime over a video he posted against the Tablighi Jamaat.
In other news, The Tirunelveli police Friday arrested three people in connection with the deaths of three students after a wall collapsed at a government-aided school on SN High Road.
Tamil Nadu on Saturday requested the Centre to issue further set of guidelines on testing international passengers arriving in the state after a person from a 'non-risk country' tested positive for the Omicron variant of Covid-19 recently, becoming the first such case reported in the state.
Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Dr T S Selvavinayagam in his letter to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Secretary Rajesh Bhushan requested that international passengers arriving in Tamil Nadu should undergo mandatory post-arrival testing of Covid-19 as against the current practice of testing only those passengers who arrive from 'at risk' countries.
According to him, 28 passengers, who arrived from various overseas destinations till Friday in Tamil Nadu, were detected with 's' gene drop indicating infection of Omicron variant of coronavirus. Of them, only four were from 'high risk' countries while the remaining from 'non-risk countries'. (PTI)
A large number of women workers of a company near here, which assembles and manufactures smart phone spares, resorted to a flash protest, blocking the busy Chennai-Bengaluru highway that led to traffic snarl on Saturday. The protest, which also spilled over to two other locations, affecting traffic on the Chennai-Tirupati route as well for sometime, was called off after the intervention of authorities.
The background to the workers’ protest that lasted for about 11 hours since late Friday night is a fallout of food poisoning, that affected workers staying in a company provided accommodation at suburban Vellavedu in Tiruvallur District. Police said employees reported vomiting and diarrhea after they consumed food provided at the hostel canteen and 132 of them had to be treated at hospitals and except four people, who continue to be treated, all others have been discharged.
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Puducherry registered 17 fresh cases of Covid-19 during last 24 hours ending 9 am on Saturday, raising the total positives to 1,29,309. Puducherry registered six out of the 17 new cases while Karaikal recorded 10 cases and Mahe reported one. The active cases were 171 of whom 29 patients were in hospitals and remaining 142 were in home isolation, Director of the Department of Health G Sriramulu said in a release.
Twenty- three patients recovered and were discharged during last twenty-four hours while overall recoveries were 1,27,259. No fresh fatality was reported from any of the four regions of Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam during last twenty-four hours and the toll remained 1879.
The test positivity rate was 0.87 percent today while the fatality and recovery rates were 1.45 percent and 98.41 percent respectively. The Health Department has administered 13,37,697 doses so far and they comprised 8,11,527 first doses and the remaining 5,26,170 were second doses. (PTI)
Tamil Nadu saw 621 new Covid-19 infections, including a returnee from the United Arab Emirates, taking the caseload to 27,38,583 while the death toll rose to 36,667 with 11 more deaths, the Health Department said on Friday. Recoveries eclipsed new infections with 679 people getting discharged in the last 24 hours aggregating to 26,94,509 leaving 7,407 active infections, a bulletin said.
A total of 1,05,974 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, pushing the cumulative number of specimens examined to 5,60,13,280. Chennai and Coimbatore accounted for the majority of new infections with 127 and 102 cases respectively, while the remaining were spread across other districts. (PTI)
The Tamil Nadu government has declared Tamil Thai Vaazhthu, a prayer song sung in praise of Mother Tamil, as the State Song. Chief Minister M K Stalin said on Friday (December 17) that a Government Order (GO) had been issued directing that everyone who is present during the rendition of the song, barring differently abled persons, should remain standing. The 55-second song, which is familiar to almost everyone in Tamil Nadu, is sung, like the national anthem, at the beginning of functions in all educational institutions, government offices, public sector undertakings, and similar public events in the state.
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The Tirunelveli police Friday arrested three people in connection with the deaths of three students after a wall collapsed at a government-aided school on SN High Road. Suresh Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Tirunelveli said the correspondent, headmistress and the building contractor of the Schaffer Higher Secondary School have been booked under section 304 (ii) of the IPC.
According to officials, around 10:50 am on Friday when students went to the toilet, one portion of the wall near the urinal collapsed. Hearing the scream of the students, the rest of the students reached the spot and informed teachers and other staff.
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Days after the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court quashed an FIR filed against YouTuber Maridhas by the Madurai city cybercrime police, Tamil Nadu police arrested him in the third case, which was registered by the previous AIADMK regime over a video he posted against the Tablighi Jamaat.
Even as the HC quashed an FIR against his tweets in the wake of Chief of Defence Bipin Rawat’s death in a chopper crash, he was not released from the prison as he was arrested and remanded till December 27 in another case — allegedly forging the email of a TV channel official.
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A large number of women workers of a company near here, which assembles and manufactures smart phone spares, resorted to a flash protest, blocking the busy Chennai-Bengaluru highway that led to traffic blockade on Saturday. The workers' protest since late Friday night, is over allegations related to hospitalisation of 8 employees due to poor quality of food served in canteen, according to preliminary inputs.
In view of the protest, many vehicles including cargo trucks were stranded on the highway at Sunguvarchatiram in Kancheepuram district. District authorities and police officials are holding talks with the protesters. (PTI)
Banking services across Tamil Nadu remained hit for the second day on Friday with employees union staging a protest against the proposed privatisation of nationalised banks by the government.
Several bank branches were shut following the two-day strike call given by the unions – All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), United Forum of Bank Union, All India Bank Officers’ Confederation and National Organisation of Bank Workers – on December 16 and 17.
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AIADMK workers on Friday staged protests across Tamil Nadu against the ruling DMK for what it termed as “anti-people” attitude and for not fulfilling its poll assurances. The protests, the first after the party elected O Panneerselvam and K Palaniswami as coordinator and co-coordinator, recently through inner elections ratifying the dual leadership, demanded that the DMK government change its stance against the people.
While Panneerselvam and Palaniswami led the protests in Theni and Salem, respectively, party leaders led the protests in the district headquarters while former fisheries minister D Jayakumar led the protest at Royapupram in Chennai.
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As many as 28 people who arrived from both ‘high-risk’ and ‘non-risk’ countries till date have tested Covid-19 positive along with S-gene drop, raising the suspicion of being infected by Omicron, Tamil Nadu Minister Ma Subramanian said on Friday. The Minister for Medical and Family Welfare said the samples of the 28 passengers have been sent for genomic sequencing analysis.
Talking to reporters, in Chennai, Subramanian said he would seek the Centre’s approval to hold mandatory RT-PCR testing on passengers arriving from ‘non-risk’ countries on completion of their seven-day home quarantine. Currently, travellers arriving from ‘high-risk’ countries undergo mandated RT-PCR testing at the international airport while the Health Department randomly conducts RTPCR sampling to 2 per cent of passengers arriving from ‘non-risk’ countries.
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The Tamil Nadu government on Friday announced ‘Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu,’ an invocation sung in praise of Mother Tamil, as the state anthem and directed that all present during its rendition should remain standing. The decision comes in the wake of the Madras High Court recently ruling that ‘Tamil Thai Vaazhthu’ is a prayer song and not an anthem.
“There is no statutory or executive order requiring the attendees to stand up when Tamil Thai Vaazhthu is sung. But highest reverence and respect ought to be shown to Tamil Thai Vaazhthu,” the court had said.
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Parts of Chennai will face a power shutdown from 9 am to 2 pm, with supply expected to resume before 2 pm if the work is completed.
As per a press release given by the company, the following neighbourhoods in Chennai will be affected:
Tambaram: RADHA NAGAR Purusothaman Nagar Main Road, NGO Colony main road, Hasthinapuram main road, Bajana kovil street, Maruthi Nagar, Nehru Street, Katteri amman Nagar KADAPPERI Kulakkarai Street Lakshimpuram, Rajiv Ghandhi street, Oddapalayam, Samundeswari nagar, Sripuram, Sivasankaran street KRISHNA NAGAR Periyalwar street, Thirumazhisai street, Thiruppanar street KOVILAMBAKKAM Vadival Nagar, Gopal Nagar, Elumalai Salai, Ponniamman Kovil St, Indira Nagar, Arul Murugan nandavanam Nagar and above surrounding areas.
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Welcome to today’s live blog. We bring to you the latest news on Covid-19, politics, features, entertainment, sports, weather, art and culture from across Chennai and Tamil Nadu. Follow our live blog and @ie_chennai to stay up to date with what’s happening in the state.
Banking services across Tamil Nadu remained hit for the second day on Friday with employees union staging a protest against the proposed privatisation of nationalised banks by the government.
According to PTI, several bank branches were shut following the two-day strike call given by the unions - All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), United Forum of Bank Union, All India Bank Officers' Confederation and National Organisation of Bank Workers - on December 16 and 17.
Three school students in Tamil Nadu in a government-aided school in Tirunelveli died Friday as a toilet wall collapsed on them. The students belonged to classes 6, 8 and 12. The incident occured at Schaffter Higher Secondary School and two other students were injured in the incident and are currently undergoing treatment at the hospital.
The Tamil Nadu government has stepped up surveillance measures in districts along its border with Kerala where bird flu cases have been reported recently. The Nilgiris administration has temporarily suspended transport of poultry products from Kerala.
Teams have been posted at checkpoints in Nambiar, Kunnu, Thalur, Choladi, Kakundi, Poolakunnu, Nadukani and Pattavayal along the border. Medical teams have also been deployed in Kakanallah checkpoint bordering Karnataka to ensure that poultry from Kerala does not enter the district through Karnataka.
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Three school students lost their lives after a toilet wall at a government aided school in Tirunelveli district collapsed. Few other students have been injured and are undergoing treatment.
Keeping in mind “ecological security and habitat ecology” of the Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department has decided to withdraw a controversial proposal that sought to reduce the core area of the sanctuary.
In 2020, the proposal submitted by the previous Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW) during the AIADMK government’s rule, sought “rationalisation of the existing boundary of Vedanthangal Birds Sanctuary under section 26-A(3) of Wildlife [Protection) Act, 1972”, paving the way for commercial expansion in the area. The issue then became a controversy.
However, communicating the decision through a letter addressed to State Environment Secretary Supriya Sahu on December 15, Chief Wildlife Warden Shekher Kumar Niraj said that the proposal “may please be considered as withdrawn forever.”
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As part of a city-development plan, the ‘Kathipara Urban Square’ featuring several amenities like food court, play area for children, parking lot and bus stop, was on Thursday inaugurated in Chennai by Chief Minister MK Stalin. The urban square, beneath the all time busy clover-leaf Kathipara flyover, was built at an estimated cost of Rs 14.50 crore.
Retail outlets, craft stores, glittering solar lighting at night are some of the other features of the square, the first such amenity here and a ‘milestone’ initiative as part of fulfilling the goals of ‘Singara Chennai 2.0’ a city development plan with various project components, an official release said.
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The union territory of Puducherry logged seven fresh COVID-19 cases during the last 24 hours taking the overall tally to 1,29,292, a senior official of the Department of Health said on Friday. The union territory had added 24 new infections on Thursday.
Director of Health Department G Sriramulu said in a release that Puducherry accounted for six out of the seven new cases while Mahe recorded one. The Karaikal and Yanam regions did not not report any fresh infections. The number of active cases stood at 177 which included 31 patients undergoing treatment in hospitals and remaining 146 in home isolation.
As many as 16 patients recovered and were discharged during the last 24 hours ending 10 AM Friday as the overall recoveries rose to 1,27,236. No fresh fatality was reported from any of the four regions of Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam and the death toll remained at 1,879. The Department of Health has so far tested 20,21,468 samples and has found 17,15,690 out of them to be negative. (PTI)
The decomposed body of a class 10 girl, who went missing last week from her residence in Coimbatore, was found near a garbage bin on Thursday, police said. The mother of the girl had lodged a complaint with the police alleging that her second daughter was found missing from the house on December 11, when she returned from work in the evening. When the girl’s mother tried calling her mobile phone, it was switched off, the complaint said.
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As many as 70 new state-run pharmacies, that sell medicine on a discount of upto 20 per cent, were inaugurated virtually on Thursday by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday. Stalin unveiled the new medical stores from the Secretariat, set up under the aegis of the Department of Cooperation, and these are located in 36 districts.
Four shops were opened here, Ariyalur, Coimbatore, Cuddalore, Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Erode, Kanyakumari and Karur which were among the over 30 districts, where the pharmacies were unveiled through video-conferencing by the Chief Minister.
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A section of users of technology giant Microsoft’s services across the world were cheated and they were coerced to pay for bogus ‘services’ by a fake call centre in Chennai, cyber crime police said on Thursday.
Three men, who are directors of a firm, identified as ‘iTrope Technologies’ that operated from Ambattur here were arrested and a probe is on, a CB-CID-Cyber Crime wing’s official release said. Based on a complaint from Microsoft India, CB-CID formed 8 teams and searched various locations involving the firm.
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As part of a city-development plan, the ‘Kathipara Urban Square’ featuring several amenities like food court, play area for children, parking lot and bus stop, was on Thursday inaugurated in Chennai by Chief Minister MK Stalin. The urban square, beneath the all time busy clover-leaf Kathipara flyover, was built at an estimated cost of Rs 14.50 crore.
A 31-year-old transgender was found dead Monday night in B Mutlur village near Paragipetai in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu. The deceased, identified as Panimalar, was residing in Manalur near Chidambaram. The Parangipetai police recovered the transgender’s body from a farm and sent it for a post-mortem to Mundiyambakkam government hospital. More than 30 transgenders gathered at the hospital seeking justice for Panimalar.
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Five more people in Tamil Nadu have been detected with S-Gene drop, indicating that they might also have been infected by Omicron variant of coronavirus, the government said on Thursday.
The state reported the first Omicron case on Wednesday, after the genome sequencing of the sample of a 47-year-old man who arrived in Chennai from Nigeria, revealed that he was infected by the new strain. Six of his family members had S-gene drop in them raising suspicion of Omicron infection.
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Parts of Chennai will face a power shutdown from 9 am to 4 pm, with supply expected to resume before 4 pm if the work is completed. As per a press release given by the company, the following neighbourhoods in Chennai will be affected:
Tambaram: PALLAVARAM Tanery Street, Gribith street, 1 st to 4 th street and main road, Somasundaram 1 st and 2 nd street, Munaiver avenue PERUMBAKKAM Nookampalyam Main Road, Gokul Nagar, Ramaihya Nagar, Sekharan Nagar, Radha enclave.
Welcome to today’s live blog. We bring to you the latest news on Covid-19, politics, features, entertainment, sports, weather, art and culture from across Chennai and Tamil Nadu. Follow our live blog and @ie_chennai to stay up to date with what’s happening in the state.