Another 5,994 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu on Sunday, with the northern districts accounting for a majority of the fresh cases. For the seventh day in a row, the deaths of more than 100 patients were recorded in the State, including that of an 11-year-old boy from Virudhunagar, taking the toll to 4,927. Chennai, however, recorded cases in three-digits for the third consecutive day.

The medical bulletin registered the deaths of 119 persons — 103 with co-morbidities and 16 without any. Of this, 13 persons each died in Coimbatore and Virudhunagar, while 12 died in Chennai. There were six deaths each in Madurai, Tiruvallur and Thoothukudi.

The 11-year-old boy was admitted to the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai on August 3. However, he died due to COVID-19 and T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia on August 7. Besides, a 23-year-old man from Tiruppur with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma died at a government hospital in the district on August 7 due to COVID-19 pneumonia. He was admitted on August 2 with complaints of fever and cough for two days.

Of the State’s tally of 2,96,901, 53,336 persons are still under treatment. Another 6,020 persons, including 1,061 in Chennai and 431 in Kancheepuram, were discharged. With this, a total of 2,38,638 persons have been discharged in the State.

Chennai’s daily count stood at 989, staying below the 1,000-mark. The city’s neighbouring districts had 300-plus cases — Chengalpattu 397, Tiruvallur 396 and Kancheepuram 393. Among other northern districts, Tiruvannamalai had 221 cases, while Ranipet and Vellore recorded 219 and 149 respectively. There were 146 cases in Cuddalore.

The surge continued in many of the southern districts. Though cases remained stable in Madurai, with 107 persons testing positive for COVID-19, 360 persons tested positive in Theni, and 250 in Thoothukudi. Virudhunagar had 193 new cases, while Tenkasi had 173. Dindigul had 131 cases and Kanniyakumari 127.

A total of 217 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Coimbatore, while Salem and Thanjavur had 163 and 155 cases respectively. There were 139 cases in Pudukottai. Twenty returnees also tested positive for COVID-19.

In the last 24 hours, a total of 70,186 samples were tested in the State. So far, a total of 32,25,805 samples have been tested.