Four more new cases ofCOVID-19 were reported in the Union Territory of Puducherry on Thursday taking the total tally to 17.Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao told newsmen it is a tough time for the health authorities as the number of active cases has gone up.He said the number of cases was 13 on Wednesday and it shot upto 17 now following three returnees from Dubai and one person from the neighbouring Kurumbapet village testing positive for the pandemic.Rao said the Indira Gandhi Government Medical College Hospital (a COVID-19 designated facility) had 13 cases now while Karaikal has one case. Mahe region, an enclave of Puducherry in Kerala, had three cases bringing the total tally in the Union Territory as of now to 17.The Health Minister said before the relaxation of the lockdown norms on May 17 the Union Territory had the cases in single digit."After the norms were relaxed, the flow of people belonging to Puducherry from foreign countries and also those moving into the town from red zones in the neighbouring districts of Tamil Nadu had resulted in spike in the cases," he said.Rao appealed to those returning from foreign countries to intimate the health department so that necessary arrangements for their quarantine could be made. "We will not be able to trace all those returning from abroad," he said.Director of Health and Family Welfare S Mohan Kumar, who was also present, said those returning to Puducherry would be subject to a compulsory 14-day quarantine.He said those showing no symptoms for the infection would be kept in home quarantine. Others showing symptoms would be in government-run quarantine.He said three of the five patients admitted to JIPMER a few weeks ago had tested negative and were discharged and the remaining two were under treatment. All these patients hailed from neighbouring Tamil Nadu districts of Villupuram and Cuddalore.
