Covid cases close to 5 lakh-mark in Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: Covid-19 cases in Tamil Nadu was nearing another grim milestone as case tally inched close to 5 lakh, when the state added 5,495 cases and 76 deaths on Saturday. The total tally touched 4,97,066 and the toll reached 8,307. The active cases in the state were 47,110.
Public health officials said they were prepared to see a surge with more businesses, commercial establishments, and hospitality services opening up. At the end of the day, 6,227 people were discharged, pushing the cure rate close to 90%. The case fatality rate was below 2% and the active cases rate dropped to 9%.
Experts said that in the absence of a drug of choice and a vaccine, the only tools left with the state were aggressive screening, isolation of positive cases and early treatment. "We want people to wear masks, wash hands with soap frequently and maintain social distance. That is the only way to contain the spread now," said health secretary J Radhakrishnan.
The state saw more than 1.5 lakh fresh cases and nearly 3,300 deaths in August. In September, it added 73,508 fresh cases and 889 deaths. "We are making an aggressive effort now to push down deaths. We are seeing less than 75 deaths a day compared to 110 in August," he said. "Our deaths rate is still one of the lowest in the country at around 1.7%. We are working out ways to minimise deaths further," he said.
On Saturday, Chennai reported 978 cases and 17 deaths, while the three neighbouring districts, Tiruvallur (299), Chengalpet (267), and Kancheepuram (133) together clocked 699 cases and 14 deaths.