Chennai, Apr 5 (IANS): With the death of two more persons attributed to coronavirus, the death toll due to COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu went up to five on Sunday and the number of persons who had tested positive for virus infection was 86, said a senior official.
Speaking to reporters here, Health Secretary Beela Rajesh said with 86 more Covid-19 cases, the total number of persons who tested positive for Coronavirus in the state jumped to 571.
Bulk of the total number of persons who have tested positive are those who had attended the conference held by Tablighi Jamaat in Delhi last month.
Queried about the handing over the body of a 71-year-old patient to the relatives who had tested positive for coronavirus, she said: "The person had a travel history to Dubai. He was under home quarantine and came to the hospital at the last moment. His blood sample was taken for testing.
Rajesh said with two hours of getting admitted to Stanley Hospital, his condition turned critical and he died. Rajesh evaded a question to why the body was handed over to the relatives before the test results.
K. Navas Kani, Member of Parliament from Ramanathapuram, has demanded action against Stanley Hospital for alleged carelessness in this regard.
He said that the delay on part of the hospital authorities to report the victim's corona positive status had created a big scare among those who attended his funeral.
"The body was taken to Keelakarai in Ramanathapuram district for funeral from Chennai. And many attended the funeral. Had it been known that he was a Covid-19 patient, the body wouldn't have been brought to Keelakarai," Kani told IANS.
Rajesh said the focus is on preventing the state getting into Stage 3 of virus spread-community spread and containment action is implemented vigorously across the state.
She said as a part of containment action plan, about 9.22 lakh households having about 38.88 lakh people were surveyed by the health workers across the state.
According to her, testing of persons is done judiciously and there are seven Covid-19 patients in private hospitals.