PremiumTamil Nadu on Saturday logged 5,989 fresh Covid-19 cases pushing the total number of cases to 9,26,816, while the active cases touched 37,673. The state also recorded 23 deaths taking the toll to 12,886. On Saturday, the state also reported 1,952 discharges and with that the total number of recoveries reached 8,76,257, as per the state health bulletin.
Chennai accounted for most of the new infections with 1,977 cases, taking the aggregate to 2,63,129. The metropolis also leads in the number of fatalities with 4,312. Chengalpet reported 615 fresh cases today, Coimbatore 501, Thiruvallur 212, Madurai 194, Tiruchirappalli 187, Kancheepuram 181, Tiruppur 154, Nagapattinam 144, Salem 135, Cuddalore 127, Tirunelveli 117, Thanjavur 116 and Tuticorin 102.
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Premium Noting that the new COVID-19 cases were increasing on a daily basis, Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said districts like Chennai, Chengalpet, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Coimbatore, Thanjavur, and Nagapattinam were posing a challenge in containing the virus spread.
COVID-19 monitoring officials and field level officers were working on war-footing in such districts, he said, adding 15 field level officers were appointed to the 15 zones that come under the Greater Chennai Corporation jurisdiction.
A total of 84,546 samples were tested on Saturday, pushing the cumulative number of specimens examined to 2,04,31,588. As many as 26 people who arrived from various destinations were among those who tested positive.
Health Secretary further said the government was stepping up COVID-19 infrastructure facilities following the surge in infections.
Meanwhile, beaches in Chennai, Chengalpattu and Thiruvallur districts in Tamil Nadu will remain closed for the public over the weekends and on government holidays from April 11 until further orders, news agency ANI reported. In these three districts, religious places will remain open for devotees till 10 pm.
With Covid-19 cases showing an upward trend, the Tamil Nadu government on Thursday decided to impose fresh restrictions across the state from April 10.
Premium Premium In an order issued by Chief Secretary Rajeev Ranjan, the government said that despite effective containment activities, there has been a considerable increase in the number of positive cases across the state in recent days due to the non-adherence of Covid-19 guidelines.
India registered a record single-day spike of 1,45,384 new coronavirus infections on Saturday taking the nationwide COVID-19 tally of cases to 1,32,05,926,
Maharashtra has reported the highest daily new cases at 58,993. It is followed by Chhattisgarh with 11,447 cases while Uttar Pradesh reported 9,587 new cases. India's cumulative recoveries stand at 1,19,90,859 with 77,567 recoveries being registered in a day.
(With inputs from agencies)
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