Tamil Nadu COVID-19 wrap: Class 10-12 students allowed to return to schools from Oct 1

According to the order, students of classes 10-12 in government-aided and private schools can come to schools on a voluntary basis and with the written consent of parents. Further, schools can also call up to 50 per cent of the teachers who are taking classes for Classes 10 to 12.

The government has made it clear that assemblies, sports or other events that can lead to overcrowding must be strictly avoided, the order said. Thermal screening, wearing face masks, social distancing and disinfecting the school premises must be followed. Instead of biometric attendance for teachers or staff, alternative arrangements for contactless attendance should be made, the order said.

TN government permits students studying in class X, XI, and XII to come to schools (present outside the containtment areas) on a voluntary basis for taking guidance from the teachers from Oct 1. The students to be divided into two batches and only one will be permitted on a day.

— Janardhan Koushik (@koushiktweets) September 24, 2020

Schools in Tamil Nadu have been closed since March in view of COVID-19 induced lockdown.

Kin of patients to be tested at doorstep: S P Velumani

To check the spread of COVID-19 in Coimbatore, the Tamil Nadu government has decided to launch a door-to-door testing programme for the kin of patients tested positive for the virus, Minister for Municipal Administration, Rural Development, and Implementation of Special Programme, S P Velumani said.

The minister said that 20 mobile testing vehicles will be used for this campaign. The vehicles will have a lab technician, a nurse and a health worker, he said during a review meeting of COVID-19 situation with senior officials of various departments in Coimbatore.

One more lab approved for COVID-19 testing

One more lab in Tamil Nadu has been approved for COVID-19 testing in the state. Bioline Laboratory C/O SKS Hospital in Salem was approved for testing Thursday. With this, the number of labs for COVID-19 testing in the state has gone up to 178 (66 government and 112 private labs).

S P Balasubrahmanyam ‘extremely critical’, says hospital

Singer-actor SP Balasubrahmanyam’s condition has ‘deteriorated’, and he has been put on ‘maximal life support’, read a statement released by Chennai’s MGM Healthcare on Thursday. The statement further said SPB’s condition is ‘extremely critical’.

READ | SP Balasubrahmanyam is extremely critical: Hospital

“Thiru SP Balasubrahmanyam, who had been admitted at MGM Healthcare on August 5, remains on ECMO and other life support measures. His condition in the last 24 hours has deteriorated further, warranting maximal life support and he is extremely critical. The team of experts at MGM Healthcare are closely monitoring his health condition,” the statement read.

DMDK’s Vijayakant tests COVID-19 positive

Actor-politician Vijayakant has tested positive for coronavirus, a statement from his political outfit Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) said. “Vijayakant visits a private hospital in Chennai every six months for a routine medical check-up. And during one such visit recently, he had tested positive for coronavirus,” the statement read.

READ | Vijayakant tests positive for COVID-19

The statement noted that Vijaykant had mild symptoms and he was doing completely fine after taking the required treatment.

5,692 fresh cases, 66 deaths reported

Tamil Nadu Thursday reported 5,692 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the overall tally to 5,63,691. With 66 deaths reported in the past 24 hours, the death toll reached 9,076. A total of 90,607 samples tests were done by RT-PCR today.

On Thursday, as many as 5,470 persons were discharged, taking the number of recovered patients to 5,08,210. There are 46,405 active cases in the state.

In Chennai, 1,089 cases were reported which pushed the city’s overall tally to 1,59,683. Other neighbouring districts of Thiruvallur (265), Chengalpattu (299) and Kancheepuram (196) reported 760 COVID-19 cases. Coimbatore, with 642 cases, recorded the second-highest tally of cases in the state today. In Salem (311) and Cuddalore (250) cases continue to surge.

(With inputs from PTI)