5 Covid deaths reported in Tamil Nadu last month, Health Minister Subramanian tells House

The AIADMK leader said that the daily cases in the state are increasing and Covid tests have to be intensified and fever camps need to be set up in public spaces across the state. Edappadi also noted that door-to-door screening has to be made and a separate ward needs to be allocated for treating Covid cases.

In his reply, Subramanian said that the deaths in the past one month are to be considered as incidental Covid-19 deaths. Citing a few instances, he said that in all these cases, the patients were not admitted to the hospital after being affected with Covid-19 and succumbed due to the virus.

“An 82-year-old man of Vellakoil in Tirupur district was a diabetic. When a swab test was taken at the point of death, he was diagnosed with Covid-19. A 54-year-old man from Thoothukudi was suffering from lung cancer and was undergoing treatment at a hospital for a long time. When the RT-PCR test was conducted at the point of death, he was diagnosed with Covid-19. In another instance, a 56-year-old woman of PM Pudhur in Coimbatore, who was diabetic and co-morbidity was admitted to a hospital in a critical condition. She was diagnosed with Covid-19 and passed away,” the minister said.

Subramanian said though these are incidental Covid-19 deaths, considering that the family of the deceased should not face any issue while receiving the government’s financial aid for Covid-19, they are recorded as Covid deaths.

“Since the end of 2019, there have been so many variants of Covid-19 but we are prepared to handle them. The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu will protect the people and the state, we have the requisite medical infrastructure to handle them,” the minister added.

Subramanian warned the public to be cautious though there was no need to panic. He noted that people with comorbidities need to be careful, take precautionary measures, and follow the safety instructions provided by the government.

On Monday, the state recorded 386 Covid positive cases and 2,099 active cases. It is to be noted that the state health department has made masks compulsory for all staff, and patients at all medical facilities in the state.