TN Minister Thangamani, son tests positive for corona

Senior AIADMK leader and Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister P Thangamani and his son on Wednesday tested positive for COVID-19.

Sources close to the Minister told UNI that Mr Thangamani and his family members have been routinely subjecting themselves to medical tests to ascertain whether they were exposed to coronavirus.

Their swab samples were taken for testing yesterday and the reports returned positive today in respect of Thangamani and his son Dharanidharan following which both of them were admitted to the Apollo Hospitals in the city for treatment.

Hospital sources said their condition was stable.

Both of them were asymptomatic.

As he tested positive, Mr Thangamani did not attend the NTPC review meeting by Union Minister of State for Power and New and Renewable Energy R K Singh with Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami at the State Secretariat this afternoon.

Mr Thangamani is the second Minister and tenth MLA (sixth AIADMK MLA) in the State to test positive for COVID-19.

Earlier Higher Education Minister and Palacode MLA K P Anbalagan had tested positive and was undergoing treatment at a private hospital.

Earlier, AIADMK MLAs K.Palani (Sriperumbudur), N Sathan Prabhakar (Paramakudi), Kumaraguru (Ulundurpet) and Amman Arjunan (Coimbatore South) tested positive for coronavirus and were undergoing treatment at various hospitals.

Mr Thangamani was the seventh AIADMK leader to test positive after five MLAs and another senior leader and former Minister Ms B Valarmathi have tested positive.

Apart from six AIADMK MLAs, four MLAs from the Opposition DMK also tested positive. They were R.T.Arasu (Cheyyur), Vasantham K.Karthikeyan (Rishivandhiyam), K.S.Masthan (Gingee) and J.Anbazhagan (Tiruvallikeni-Chepauk).

Anbazhagan later succumbed to virus on June 10.

Mr Anbalagan was the first legislator in the country to fall victim to the pandemic.

Besides, a functionary each from the DMK and Congress also tested positive and succumbed to the virus.