Tamil Nadu ’s overall tally of COVID-19 cases crossed the 9,000-mark after recording 509 new cases on Wednesday. Three days after reporting more than 500 cases, the number of cases marginally dipped to 380 in Chennai, even as its total count climbed to 5,262.
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With fresh cases — 288 males and 221 females — being reported in 16 districts across Tamil Nadu, the State’s total number of COVID-19 cases stood at 9,227*. The total number of deaths due to COVID-19 increased to 64. Three men — all in their 40s — died in Chennai.
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According to a bulletin issued by the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, a 41-year-old resident of Chennai died at the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital on May 12. He was a diabetic and died due to respiratory failure.
The second person — a 43-year-old resident of the city — was referred from a private hospital and admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) on May 13. He too was a diabetic and died on the same day due to pneumonia and respiratory failure. A 48-year-old man with systemic hypertension was admitted to RGGGH and died on May 12 due to bilateral pneumonia and respiratory failure.
At the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, 22 cancer patients, 15 patients with renal failure, two HIV patients and two patients with liver disease have been admitted after testing positive for COVID-19 and discharged after treatment so far. Of the 22 cancer patients, 13 had head and neck cancers.
Cancer patients stand at a higher risk for COVID-19 as their immunity levels are low. Two patients who suffered from cancer and tested positive for COVID-19 died at the hospital.
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Among those who were treated for COVID-19 at the hospital, 60% had diabetes and 40% had hypertension, according to a press release.
A health official said that many people who had died in the State had co-morbidities and tested for COVID-19 incidentally. “The direct cause of many of the deaths reported so far may not be COVID-19. We have had patients with multiple complications due to co-morbidities and COVID-19 could have been the triggering factor,” he said. Another 42 persons were discharged from hospitals in the State. This took the total number of persons discharged after treatment to 2,176. As on date, there are 6,984 active cases and 4,623 individuals suspected to have symptoms of COVID-19 are in isolation facilities.
Along with Chennai, cases continued to surge in neighbouring districts of Chengalpattu and Tiruvallur. There were 25 cases each in the two districts. With this, the total number of cases climbed to 416 in Chengalpattu and 492 in Tiruvallur. In fact, Tiruvannamalai too has been reporting COVID-19 cases regularly. The district had 23 new cases.
There were 17 cases in Cuddalore, seven in Villupuram, five each in Theni and Tirunelveli, four each in Ariyalur and Kancheepuram, two each in Karur, Madurai, Nagapattinam, and one each in Perambalur, Thanjavur and Thoothukudi. Five more passengers, who arrived on a repatriation flight to the Chennai airport, tested positive for COVID-19. These persons were among the 186 passengers who had arrived in the city on May 12.
Another 42 children, aged 0-12, tested positive for COVID-19, while 34 persons aged above 60 also tested positive for the infection.
The day saw a marginal rise in the number of samples when compared to previous days. A total of 12,780 samples were tested, taking the total number of samples tested so far to 2,79,467. Testing of 482 samples is under process. One more private laboratory — Nu-Med Labs, Kancheepuram — has been approved for testing. With this, there are a total of 38 testing facilities in the government and 18 in the private sector.
(*This is inclusive of two deaths cross notified to other states and one patient who died after testing negative for the infection)
