CHENNAI Tamil Nadu added another 536 cases of COVID-19 on Monday, taking its tally to 11,760*.
Of the new cases, 46 persons had returned to the State from Maharashtra.
Accounting for 364 of the fresh cases, Chennai’s tally of positive cases crossed the 7,000-mark, while Chengalpattu reported 43 more cases, taking its total to 537. Both Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram continued to report new cases with 19 and 17, respectively. Three women who tested positive for COVID-19 died in the city. A 53-year-old, who was admitted to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) on May 16, died due to respiratory failure on Sunday. She suffered from acute respiratory distress syndrome and pneumonia.
The second patient, a 65-year-old, had systemic hypertension and diabetes and was admitted to RGGGH on May 15. She died on Sunday due to acute encephalopathy and bilateral pneumonia. A 70-year-old resident of Chennai was admitted to Government Stanley Medical College Hospital on May 17. She had systemic hypertension, uncontrolled diabetes, hypothyroidism and morbid obesity and died on Monday due to left intertrochanteric fracture with pulmonary embolism, according to the bulletin issued by the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.
With this, a total of 81 persons have died in the State of COVID-19. Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar, during a media briefing, said that many of those who died had co-morbid conditions.
Meanwhile, 234 persons were discharged across the State. So far, a total of 4,406 persons have recovered from COVID-19, he said.
“There were no new cases in at least 15-16 districts such as Erode, Coimbatore, Salem and Sivaganga. Now, persons are returning to the State from abroad on flights, persons have arrived in two trains from Delhi and by road from Maharashtra and Gujarat. We are screening such persons, testing, putting them under quarantine, and are admitting them to hospitals in case they are positive for COVID-19,” he added.
Among the new cases - 304 male and 232 female - were 46 children aged 0 to 12. The youngest among them were three month-old babies. There were three more infants aged less than a year.
The fresh cases were reported from a total of 22 districts. There were nine cases in Theni, seven in Kanniyakumari, five in Kallakurichi, four each in Tiruvannamalai and Villupuram, three each in Virudhunagar and Madurai, two each in Ariyalur and Ranipet, and one each in Karur, Tiruppattur and Thoothukudi.
Four persons who tested positive were in airport quarantine. Among those who had returned from Maharashtra, 14 tested positive in Thoothukudi, 12 in Tirunelveli, six each in Ramanathapuram and Tenkasi, five in Salem, two in Dindigul and one in Cuddalore.
“We have managed two big clusters. We traced all contacts, brought them under quarantine, and took up aggressive testing. We held a meeting with a committee from the Central government and they appreciated Tamil Nadu’s best practices,” the Minister said.
The number of samples tested on Monday stood at 11,121, while persons tested numbered 10,887. So far, a total of 3,37,841 samples have been tested in the State. “The Leader of the Opposition has said that the number of samples tested has reduced in the State. This is false information. We are testing as per protocols, and we do not fix the number of samples to be tested. It is done as per the situation, and as per the inflow of people from outside,” the Minister explained.
The number of samples tested in the State was higher than many others, he said, adding: “If the number of samples is less on a day, it does not mean we are reducing the tests.”
As of Monday, there were a total of 7,270 active cases and 4,508 individuals with suspected symptoms of COVID-19 in isolation wards.
(*This is inclusive of two deaths cross-notified to other States and one patient who died after testing negative for the infection)