Chennai, July 23: At least 84 persons deployed on duty at the Tamil Nadu Raj Bhavan tested positive for the novel coronavirus, confirmed an official statement issued on Thursday. Those who have contracted the highly contagious disease include fire safety staff and security personnel.

The symptomatic patients would be shifted to the designated COVID-19 hospitals in Chennai, whereas, those asymptomatic would be asked to remain in isolation. As per the officials, none of them came in close contact with Governor Banwarilal Purohit. COVID-19 Cases Continue to Rise Rapidly in South India; Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka And Andhra Pradesh Report Highest Single-Day Spike.

"84 people including security personnel and fire service staff working at Tamil Nadu Raj Bhavan have tested positive for COVID-19. None of these people came in contact with the Governor," said the statement issued by the Tamil Nadu Raj Bhavan.

The Raj Bhavan, based in Chennai, is the official workplace and residential premises of Governor Banwarilal Purohit. Considering his super-senior age of 81, the spree of infections has raised an alarm among the officials.

“All these persons (who tested positive) were further investigated and now have been quarantined by the Health Department. As a precautionary measure, the whole area of the Raj Bhavan, including offices, has been disinfected and sanitised by Corporation health authorities. The Raj Bhavan is closely monitoring the situation,” the statement further added.

Tamil Nadu is the second-most affected state due to COVId-19 in India and the worst-hit in southern part of the nation. The province has so far recorded more than 1.86 lakh cases, with a surge of 5,849 new infections in the last update issued on Wednesday. The death toll stood at 3,144.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 23, 2020 02:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).