Tamil Nadu records 5,879 new COVID-19 cases
Tamil Nadu continued to record a slight dip in number of fresh COVID-19 cases with 5,879 patients contracting the infection on Saturday, taking the tally to 2,51,738, the health department said. Chennai surpassed the grim milestone of one lakh mark with 1,074 new additions, taking its tally to 1,00,877.
The number of active cases across the state was 56,738.
The death toll rose to 4,034 with the addition of 99 fatalities, a department bulletin said.
The number of people discharged stood at 7,010 with cumulative recoveries leading to 1,90,966.
On Thursday, Tamil Nadu reported 5,864 new cases while on Friday there were 5,881 new infections.
According to the bulletin, 60,580 specimens were tested today aggregating to 26,18,512 till date.
With the State capital recording a decline, the number of fresh additions in districts continue to soar with neighbouring Kancheepuram reporting in a jump in cases at 368, Thiruvallur 305, Chengalpet 314 and Theni 327.
Other districts like Virudhunagar registered 286 cases, Thiruvannamalai 240, Tuticorin 242, Thiruvarur 240, Kanyakumari 198 and Vellore 197, the bulletin said.
Nine of the deceased persons had no comorbid conditions.
Among those with comorbid conditions, a 27 year old woman suffering from various ailments died of cardiorespiratory arrest in the city, the bulletin said.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, the government on Saturday suspended a private hospital from the city to treat COVID-19 patients following a complaint of overcharging a coronavirus patient, to the tune of Rs 12.20 lakh for a 19-day treatment.
The permission to treat the infected patients was 'temporarily revoked' after it came to light during an inspection by the authorities, an official release said.
It was found that the hospital overcharged patients and did not follow the pricing cap fixed by the state government.
Hence the permission to the hospital was 'revoked temporarily', the release said.
Private hospitals have been warned of action if they violated the norms, the release said.
According to a government order, Grade-1 and 2 hospitals can charge a maximum of Rs 7,500 in general ward per day while grade-3 and 4 hospitals can charge Rs 5,000 for the same.
