Yet another day of new highs and records in coronavirus pandemic in Tamil Nadu. On Sunday 3,940 persons were added to the list of patients diagnosed with coronavirus in Tamil Nadu. The State also saw 54 deaths on a single day which took the toll till date to 1,079. Chennai continues to be the city of death as 809 out of the 1,079 persons who lost their lives are from Greater Chennai Municipal limits.
As on Sunday evening there were 35,656 covid-19 patients in the State. The total number of covid-19 cases reported in Tamil Nadu till date rose to 82, 275.
Chennai which has been locked down since June 19, reported 1,992 coronavirus cases. With the State administration giving clearance to one more private laboratory on Sunday, Tamil Nadu has 90 testing centres functioning 24X7. The laboratories continued aggressive testing with 31,505 persons getting tested on Sunday. According to a media release issued by the Government of Tamil Nadu late Sunday evening, a total of 1.05 million people have been tested in the State till date.
1,443 patients were discharged from hospitals across the State on Sunday taking the total number of persons getting cured to 45,537 till date. Out of the 54 persons succumbed on Sunday, 46 died with co-morbidities while eight had no co-morbidity history.
Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami has convened a crucial meeting of medical experts and bureaucrats on Monday to discuss the state of affairs. Corridors of power, especially in Fort Saint George, are agog with rumors of a possible extension of lock down in the four districts of Chennai, Chengalpet, Kancheepuram and Thiruvallur and Madurai municipal corporation.
Giving credence to the rumors about extension of lock down is the number of persons diagnosed in these districts. Chengalpet (183), Kancheepuram (92), Madurai (284) and Thiruvallur (99) continue to be problematic spots in Tamil Nadu.
There was a small respite for neighboring Kerala which diagnosed 118 persons with covid-19 on Sunday. It was a relief for Kerala where 195 persons were tested positive on Saturday. But the number of covid-19 patients in the State continued to be above 100 even on the 9th day in succession.
The State Health Department blamed the expatriates for the continued spurt in the pandemic. Out of the 118 positive cases, 68 were expatriates and 36 from other parts of the country. There were 14 cases of community transmission in the State on Sunday (cases in which the patients could not point out the source from where they got infected). There are 1,75 lakh persons under observation in the State. On Sunday, 335 persons were hospitalized while the State has sent 2.2 lakh samples for testing, said the release from the department of health.