Recovery nears one-lakh in Tamil Nadu, but Covid-19 cases spike down south

CHENNAI: The number of people cured of Covid-19 in Tamil Nadu inched towards the one-lakh mark on Tuesday while the state reported 67 deaths and 4,526 fresh cases, its highest single day spike. All districts recorded cases, but the worry for public health officials was the southern region.
The state’s case tally reached 1,47,324 and the toll rose to 2,099, but with 4,743 patients discharged on Tuesday, those cured totalled 97,310. This left the state with 47,912 active cases, including 15,814 in Chennai.
Chennai, despite drop in cases, continued to remain the state’s hotspot. Chennai, recorded 1,078 new cases and the adjoining districts -- Tiruvallur (360), Kancheepuram (117) and Chengalpet (264) -- together recorded 741 cases. Among other northern districts, Vellore recorded 194 and Villupuram 121 cases.
Epidemiologists say the growing worry for the state is the southern region, where cases and deaths have been rapidly increasing. On Tuesday, 1,561 new Covid-19 positive cases were reported in the 10 southern districts taking the total number of cases in the region to 22,107. Madurai had 450 new cases, the second day in a row the number crossed 400. Madurai’s case tally is now6,990 including 4,199 active cases.
On Tuesday, for the first time seven districts logged more than 100 cases in a day. The six other districts are Virudhunagar (328), Dindigul (157), Kanyakumari (122), Sivagangai (113), Tenkasi (103) and Tuticorin (112). The region also reported 21 deaths. The total number of deaths in the region rose to 272.
In the western belt, Coimbatore recorded its highest single-day spike of 188 cases. Salem, one of the worst-hit in the region, adding 58 cases pushing the district tally beyond 2,000 cases. Coimbatore has so far reported 1,480 cases, out of which more than 1,100 are active. In Salem 993 are still under treatment. The mountain district of Nilgiris too saw a steady rise with 38 new cases on Tuesday. Tirupur, Namakkal, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts, however, offered respite to the health officials with just 12, 14, seven and ten new cases respectively.
The central region comprising eight districts recorded 271 cases, with Trichy (117) logging the most.
While Chennai reported 18 deaths, 18 other districts reported deaths in single digits. Trichy reported six deaths, Vellore, Sivagangai, Madurai, Kanyakumari, Dindugul and Chengalpet reported four each. While two patients who died did not have any co-morbidities, two others – a 74-year-old man from Kanyakumari and a 67- year- old man from Chennai — were brought dead to hospitals.