A total of 5,870 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu on Saturday. As many as 5,859 persons were discharged after treatment, while 61 deaths were recorded in the State.

Till date, 4,57,697 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu, while the number of persons discharged is nearing the four-lakh mark. As of date, 3,98,366 persons have been discharged and 7,748 persons have died of the disease.

For the third consecutive day, Chennai recorded less than 1,000 cases. As many as 965 persons tested positive, taking the city’s tally to 1,40,685. The toll climbed to 2,845. Coimbatore continued to report 500-plus cases, with 545 persons testing positive for the infection, while 434 cases were recorded in Cuddalore.

In Chengalpattu, 293 persons tested positive, while Salem recorded 250 cases and Tiruvallur 244. Tiruvannamalai, which has been witnessing a rise in daily cases in the last few days, recorded 239 infections.

Cases surged in Tiruppur as 196 persons tested positive, while Nagapattinam recorded 169 cases. Vellore and Villupuram had 162 and 145 cases, respectively. The case counts in other districts were: Kancheepuram (152), Erode (140), Tirunelveli (127), Pudukottai (126) and Dindigul (122). The fresh cases took Tirunelveli’s tally past 10,000. Nine returnees also tested positive for COVID-19.

Of the 61 fatalities (40 in government hospitals and 21 in private hospitals), 19 had died in Chennai. There were six deaths in Salem, five in Kanniyakumari and four each in Chengalpattu and Cuddalore.

A 27-year-old man from Kanniyakumari with chronic kidney disease and systemic hypertension was admitted to the Kanyakumari Medical College Hospital on August 22. He died on September 4 due to respiratory failure and COVID-19 pneumonia. Three persons in their 30s succumbed to the infection. Two of them did not have co-morbidities. They included a 35-year-old man from Tirupattur, who was admitted to a private hospital in Vellore with complaints of cough for three days on August 29. He died on September 4 due to acute respiratory distress syndrome and COVID-19 pneumonia.

Another 35-year-old man, from Cuddalore, was admitted to Rajah Muthiah Medical College Hospital on August 31. He died on September 3 due to acute respiratory distress syndrome and COVID-19 pneumonia.

Till date, 50,42,197 individuals have been tested for the infection in the State. As many as 81,793 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, taking the total figure to 52,12,534.

Another five private laboratories were approved for COVID-19 testing — Molecular Diagnostics Division, Sri Gokulam Hospitals, Salem; Quality Care Diagnostic Centre Pvt Ltd, Dindigul; Raks diagnostic centre, Madurai; Shifa Health Centre, Tirunelveli; and Sri Narayani Hospital and Research Centre, Vellore.

With this, there are a total of 160 testing facilities in the State — 64 in the government sector and 96 in the private sector.