However, COVID-related fatalities remained high with 486 people succumbing to the virus in the last 24 hours taking the toll to 23,261 to date, the Health Department said. 

According to a medical bulletin, 31,759 people have walked out of healthcare facilities aggregating 17,06,298 and leaving 3,10,157 active infections. 

Chennai, which has been witnessing a steady decline in the new infections, added 2,705 cases totalling 4,99,298 overall. 

The metropolis leads in the number of fatalities with 6,914 deaths so far. 

The number of samples tested today was 1,74,349 pushing the cumulative number of specimens examined so far to 2,73,38,092 to date. Coimbatore overtook Chennai (2,705) in the number of the new infections by reporting 3,692 cases followed by Erode 1,743, Tiruppur 1,697, Salem 1,492, Chengalpet 1,314, Tiruchirappalli 1,099 and Tiruvallur 1,072. 

Districts like Cuddalore, Kancheepuram, Kanyakumari, Karur, Madurai, Nagapattinam, Namakkal, Nilgiris, Thanjavur, Theni, Tiruvannamalai, Tiruvarur, Tuticorin, Villupuram and Virudhunagar recorded over 500 new infections. 

Among the 486 deceased during the last 24 hours, 138 succumbed without any pre-existing illness, including a 24-year-old man from Ranipet.