Puducherry recorded five COVID-19 deaths on Sunday raising the cumulative toll to 539 while 343 new cases took the overall tally of coronavirus cases past the 29,000-mark.
Four of the deaths were reported in Karaikal and one in Puducherry. The patients were in the age group of 30-81 years and most of them had co-morbidities, particularly diabetes.
Puducherry has so far recorded 452 COVID-19 deaths, followed by Karaikal (45) and Yanam (42). The overall tally till date stands at 29,089 cases — Puducherry (24,269), Karaikal (2,727), Yanam (1,713) and Mahe (380). The new cases were confirmed from conducting 3,725 tests during the last 24 hours. The infection rate was 9.20%, the case fatality rate 1.85% and recovery rate 81.69%. As many as 419 patients were discharged from hospitals during the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative recoveries to 23,763.
There are 4,787 active cases in the Union Territory, including 3,144 patients in home isolation. Of the total of 2,02,784 swabs tested by the Health Department, 1,70,172 returned negative.
Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao said the flow of tourists to Puducherry has increased since the government eased restrictions.
“Therefore, it is all the more important for people to strictly adhere to safety norms and ensure that they wore face masks while venturing out, maintained social distance and also washed hands frequently,” Mr. Rao added.