Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami is hospitalized in Chennai on Monday. The 66-year-old Chief Minister and joint coordinator of ADMK has been admitted to a private hospital in the city for a hernia procedure. In what has become his first hospitalization in his Chief Ministerial tenure, the senior leaders and members are expressing their wishes to him for a speedy recovery. 

According to reports, the Chief Minister is admitted to a hospital in Amjikarai in Chennai for hernia surgery. Edappadi Palaniswami had already planned to undergo this surgery but he couldn't get it done earlier due to the election campaigns. Now, he is hospitalized for the procedure. 

As per the government guidelines, every hospitalized person should undergo COVID-19 testing prior to the surgery. The Chief Minister had also undergone the testing for the viral infection and the results returned negative post which he was prepared for the procedure. The procedure was done and the doctors have said that the Chief Minister is doing fine and stable. 

The reports say that Edappadi Palaniswami will be in hospital for three days after which he will be discharged based on the doctors' advice. The Chief Minister was staying at his residence in Siluvampalayam in Salem district after casting his vote in the Tamil Nadu assembly polls that held on April 6. He had recently come to Chennai and held discussions with the top officials in curbing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.

Tamil Nadu has been reporting a heavy caseload of COVID-19 cases as the nation is hit by the second wave of the pandemic. On Sunday, the state has recorded over 10,000 cases for the first time since the outbreak. It has reported 10,723 fresh cases, 5,925 discharges, and 42 deaths. 

Overall, the state has reported 9,91,451 cases so far as of Sunday of which 70,391 are active, 9,07,947 have been discharged, and 13,113 had succumbed to the viral infection, according to the state health department. On Sunday, the state government has imposed a complete lockdown on Sundays and night curfew from 10 pm to 4 am across the state. The recent imposition will come into effect on April 20 and will likely stay until the end of this month.