32 new coronavirus cases in Puducherry, tally rises to 1,041

Puducherry recorded 32 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, taking the tally of infections in the Union Territory to 1,041.

A medical bulletin of the Department of Health and Family Welfare said the total active cases were 510, number of patients treated and discharged were 517 while fatalities continued to remain 14 without any report of death for last few days.

While 18 of the fresh cases were admitted to the State Government-run Indira Gandhi medical college hospital, 13 patients were admitted to Centrally administered JIPMER. The remaining one patient was admitted to the Government General Hospital in Mahe.

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The fresh cases, 20 men and 12 women, were identified at the end of examination of 498 samples. Five patients were less than 18 years, 25 patients were in the age group of 18 to 60 years, while the remaining two patients were above 60 years, the bulletin said.

The department had tested so far 21,382 samples and found 19,996 samples out of them to be negative. Results of examination of remaining samples were awaited, it was stated. 35 patients were discharged, the bulletin pointed out.

Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao said through a virtual press meet that the current month would pose danger to the Union Territory as the number of cases of infection might turn out to be big.

He said private medical colleges had agreed to the appeal of the government to get infrastructures including beds and equipment ready for the patients admitted in the colleges for tests and treatment.

"The government on its part would shift positive cases from its medical college hospital to private medical colleges on Tuesday and the infrastructures in private institutions were being improved," he said.

Mobile testing units were pressed into service in rural areas so that there would be more examination of the samples to zero in on infection in the Union Territory.