With 76 persons testing positive for COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, the number of cases has gone up to 1,596.

One person died of the disease in Chennai, while 178 persons were discharged from hospitals across the State.

A 70-year-old man, who tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH), died, taking the total number of casualties to 18. Doctors said he had co-morbidities. He was referred from a private hospital and admitted to the RGGGH on April 19, according to hospital authorities.

Chennai reported the highest number of fresh cases with 55 persons (two primary and 53 contacts) testing positive for COVID-19. This included 27 employees of a television network in Royapuram. With this, the city now accounts for 358 COVID-19 cases, followed by Coimbatore with 134 and Tiruppur with 109 cases.

Five persons in Tenkasi, four in Villupuram, three each in Chengalpattu and Thanjavur, two in Kallakurichi and one each in Coimbatore, Namakkal, Tiruvarur and Kancheepuram are among the new cases. Except 10 districts, no new cases were reported in the other 25 districts that have COVID-19 cases.

The State has a total of 940 active cases. With the discharge of another 178 persons, the total number of persons who have been discharged after two subsequent tests return negative for COVID-19 has increased to 635. On Tuesday, 48 persons were discharged from the Karur Government Medical College Hospital, 31 from Coimbatore ESI Medical College Hospital, 26 from Government Stanley Medical College Hospital and 20 each from Government Medical College Hospital, Omandurar Estate, and Government Vellore Medical College Hospital, according to the bulletin issued by the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.

A total of 6,060 samples were tested, taking the total till date to 53,045. Of this, 43,582 samples have tested negative and 1,990 samples are under process. A total of 5,877 samples were repeat samples. With 5,458 individuals tested on Tuesday, the number of individuals tested so far stands at 47,168.

A total of 1,917 persons suspected to have symptoms of COVID-19 were admitted to isolation wards of hospitals. Those in home quarantine number 22,254, while 145 persons are in government quarantine facilities.

Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar held a meeting on the protection of healthcare providers, police and field staff on COVID-19 duty. Representatives of Tamil Nadu Government Doctors Association and Indian Medical Association-Tamil Nadu State Branch participated. C.N. Raja, State president of IMA, said that in the event of the death of a doctor in the private or government sector, the last rites should be performed with full police protection. The government should also provide a Rs.50 lakh insurance cover along with solatium in the event of death of a doctor.

IMA demanded that those involved in the attack during the burial of neurosurgeon Simon Hercules should be booked under the Goondas Act. Private hospitals that had been closed after reporting COVID-19 cases should be opened after disinfection by health officials, it said, and urged the government to confer special awards on doctors who died fighting COVID-19.