Four Indonesian nationals, along with their travel guide, were quarantined on March 22 after they showed symptoms of COVID-19. It has just been announced that all five of them have tested positive for the virus.

The patients have been quarantined at the Salem Medical College and are currently receiving treatment. One of the patients from Tamil Nadu who had a medical history of prolonged illness with steroid dependent COPD, uncontrolled diabetes and hypertension passed away last night and it was the first recorded death due to coronavirus in the state. A total of 23 cases have been registered in Tamil Nadu so far, while 600 cases have been confirmed across India.

Around the globe, COVID-19 has claimed the lives of more than 18950 people and infected over 425900 people. The virus was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, in China. As the death toll and overall cases began rising rapidly across the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency and the outbreak has now been labelled a pandemic.

#update: 5 news cases of #COVID19 in TN. 4 Indonesian nationals & their travel guide from Chennai test positive at #Salem Medical College. Quarantined since 22.3.20 @MoHFW_INDIA @CMOTamilNadu #vijayabaskar

— Dr C Vijayabaskar (@Vijayabaskarofl) March 25, 2020