For the third consecutive day, Tamil Nadu reported 3,000-plus coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, while the toll went past 1,000 with 68 more fatalities on Saturday.
A total of 3,713 persons tested positive for COVID-19, taking the overall tally of cases to 78,335*. With another 2,737 persons discharged, the total number of persons discharged increased to 44,094, while active cases stood at 33,213.
A total of 1,025 persons have died of COVID-19 in the State so far. Of the 68 deaths, except one person who died on June 17, the remaining fatalities occurred between June 24 and 27. Forty-five of them died in government hospitals.
Among the eight persons who did not have any comorbidities was a 29-year-old woman from Madurai. She was admitted to the Government Rajaji Hospital on June 21, and died on June 25 due to acute respiratory distress syndrome and COVID-19 pneumonia. Six persons — aged in their 30s — also succumbed to the infection. Two of them did not have any comorbid conditions — a 33-year-old man from Chennai who had fever and cough for five days and difficulty in breathing for one day died at a private hospital on June 26 due to severe acute respiratory infection and bi-lateral bronchopneumonia and a 37-year-old man died at the Government Rajaji Hospital due to acute respiratory distress syndromes and COVID-19 pneumonia.
The death of a 63-year-old woman at Government Rajaji Hospital, Madurai on June 17 due to acute respiratory distress syndrome and COVID-19 pneumonia was declared in the bulletin on Saturday. There were two patients who were declared brought dead — a 65-year-old man and a 42-year-old man — at the Government Royapettah Hospital. Their swabs returned positive for COVID-19.
With this, the total number of deaths in Chennai rose to 776, followed by 75 in Chengalpattu and 58 in Tiruvallur.
New cases
Of the 3,624 indigenous cases reported in the State, 1,939 were in Chennai. Cases continued to soar in Chengalpattu and Madurai that reported 248 and 217 cases respectively. There were 146 cases in Tiruvallur, 118 in Vellore, 110 in Tiruvannamalai, 98 in Kancheepuram, 96 in Ranipet and 93 in Ramanathapuram.
Eighty-nine persons who returned from abroad and other States tested positive for the infection. This included 40 persons from Karnataka and 11 from Kerala.
On Saturday, the total number of individuals tested crossed 10 lakh. Till date, 10,25,059 individuals have been tested in the State, with 32,068 of them having been tested in the last 24 hours. A total of 34,805 samples were tested during the last 24 hours, taking the total number of samples tested so far to 10,77,454.
The State government, through the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation, has issued procurement orders for 1,200 vials of Tocilizumab, 42,500 vials of Remdesivir and 1,00,000 vials of Enoxaparin for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Till date, the State has received supply of 1,000 vials of Tocilizumab, 1,100 vials of Remdesivir and 1,00,000 vials of Enoxaparin, while the remaining supply is expected to reach T.N. in two days. The drugs were distributed to districts, a press release said.
(*This is inclusive of two deaths cross-notified to other States and one patient who died after testing negative for the infection)
