Two days after a 24-year-old journalist of a Tamil TV channel based out in Chennai tested positive for coronavirus, an additional 26 journalists of the same TV channel have tested positive for the virus on Tuesday.
The Greater Chennai Corporation, as quoted by the New Indian Express, had sent swab samples of 94 people working at the Tamil TV channel in Royapuram after a journalist, a copy editor, had tested positive for coronavirus. So far, 26 of the 94 samples have tested positive for the infection. Officials claim the number can increase since the result of many samples have not yet come.
#Breaking | 27 employees of a television channel test positive for Coronavirus in Chennai. The channel has now been shut after mass detection.
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) April 21, 2020
TIMES NOW’s Shabbir with details. pic.twitter.com/wQjTBqaQVo
According to the officials, the office of the Tamil TV channel has been sealed off. The Royapuram zone of the Southern metropolis of Chennai has the most number of cases in the city with 92 cases as on Tuesday.
The officials of Health Department have sent all the contacts of the 27 journalists, including their family members, to the quarantine centres. The high risk contacts of these 27 journalists who tested positive for the virus will be be tested for the coronavirus.
53 journalists in Mumbai test positive for coronavirus
The news of 27 scribes testing positive for the virus comes a day after 53 reporters in Mumbai had tested positive for COVID-19. The BMC official yesterday revealed that a camp was organised on April 16 and 17 for COVID-19 testing at the Azad Maidan for the media persons. The BMC medical staff collected samples from 171 persons, including field staff from electronic and print media houses, reporters, photographers and camera persons out of which 53 tested positive for the novel contagion. Currently, most of those who were tested positive are asymptomatic.
A majority of those who tested positive in Mumbai are from TV channels. They are being provided medical treatment and held in quarantine at a hotel in Goregaon.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal agrees to conduct mass testing of journalists
Following a request made by a journalist to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to organise a mass testing for journalists in Delhi in the the aftermath of 53 journalists in Mumbai testing positive for coronavirus, the Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal has agreed to arrange for widespread testing for journalists in Delhi as well.
Sure. We will do that https://t.co/ehcY5OMiEP
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 21, 2020
India has witnessed a rapid surge in the number of coronavirus cases reported daily. With 1,331 cases in 24 hours, the total number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 18,658 by Tuesday. Maharashtra tops the list of states with the highest number of positive COVID-19 cases as it recorded 472 new cases and 9 more deaths in the last 24 hours.
