JIPMER doctor, 8 others test positive for COVID-19 in Puducherry; Active cases rise to 46

Puducherry, May 31 () A woman doctor, handling COVID-19 patients at JIPMER, is among nine new cases of the infection reported in the union territory on Sunday, the Health department said, cautioning that the contagion was intense in some areas here and asking people to stay home.

The doctor of the premier health institute is the first healthcare frontline COVID-19 warrior in UT to contract the coronavirus, officials said. Twentyfour patients had been discharged so far after recovery and the total active cases in the UT stood at 46, Director of Health and Family Welfare Services S Mohan Kumar told reporters here. Besides the doctor, another woman was among the nine who tested positive for the coronavirus and have been admitted to designated COVID-19 hospitals, he said adding new patients were in the age group of 37-60.

Kumar asked youth and those in the middle age group to avoid moving about as the infection was 'intense' in some areas. The number of containment zones in Puducherry was 19, he said adding Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam -- the other three regions of the UT located in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, have no active cases of COVID-19. Puducherry region has been reporting steady addition of COVID-19 cases in the past several days. The active cases had remained in single digits till about a fortnight ago.