Tamil Nadu’s tally of COVID-19 cases surpassed the 6.50-lakh mark on Saturday, as another 5,242 persons tested positive for the infection. Of the fresh cases, Chennai recorded 1,272 while Coimbatore, Salem and Chengalpattu saw 300-plus cases each.
Till date, 6,51,370 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in the State. Of these, 5,97,033 have been discharged after treatment, while 44,150 persons are presently under treatment. Another 67 persons died in the State, taking the toll to 10,187.
Of the 5,222 persons who were discharged on Saturday, 1,173 were in Chennai and 455 in Chengalpattu.
The fresh cases took Chennai’s tally to 1,80,751, of which 13,577 persons are under treatment. While a total of 1,63,778 persons were discharged after treatment, the city’s toll stood at 3,396. There were 392 new cases in Coimbatore, 339 in Salem and 309 in Chengalpattu.
As many as 199 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Tiruvallur, while Thanjavur and Tiruppur reported 189 and 183 cases respectively.
Among other districts, Erode had 161 cases, Kancheepuram 160 and Namakkal 153. A total 24 districts reported less than 100 cases, with Perambalur seeing the least number of cases at 17.
Chennai accounted for 23 of the 67 deaths in the State. Among the deceased was a 25-year-old woman from Tiruvarur, who was admitted to a government hospital in Tiruvarur on October 6. She had no co-morbidities. She died on October 8 due to COVID-19 pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome.Another person — a 37-year-old woman from Chengalpattu who had diabetes — was admitted to a private hospital in Chennai on October 5 with complaints of difficulty in breathing. She died on October 9 due to COVID-19 pneumonia.
Till date, a total of 24,762 children aged below 12 and 83,841 persons aged over 60 have tested positive for COVID-19.
A total of 91,191 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. So far, 82,32,725 samples have been tested.
One more private laboratory — the Genelife Molecular Laboratory in Krishnagiri — has been approved for testing. There are 191 testing facilities — 66 in the government sector and 125 private ones.