Coronavirus | 5,986 fresh infections in Tamil Nadu; over 3 lakh discharged so far

53,283 persons currently undergoing treatment; 116 more deaths reported

August 21, 2020 02:36 am | Updated 03:22 am IST - CHENNAI

A doctor wearing a protective gear takes a swab from a man to test for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. File

A doctor wearing a protective gear takes a swab from a man to test for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. File

As many as 5,986 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu on Thursday, while the total number of persons discharged crossed the three-lakh mark. The State’s death toll increased to 6,239, as another 116 persons, including two in their 20s, succumbed to the infection.

Thursday’s case count took the State’s overall tally to 3,61,435. As many as 5,742 persons, including 1,132 in Chennai, were discharged, taking the total figure to 3,01,913. The number of persons undergoing treatment stood at 53,283.

As cases continued to surge across the State, Chennai saw another 1,177 fresh infections (of which two were imported cases), taking its tally to 1,21,450. A total of 462 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Chengalpattu, followed by 397 in Coimbatore, 393 in Tiruvallur and 359 in Salem.

In Kancheepuram, 291 persons tested positive, followed by 270 in Cuddalore and 233 in Theni. Eleven districts had 100-plus cases. They included Virudhunagar (147), Ranipet (145) and Tenkasi (132).

 

Of the 116 fatalities that were recorded, 72 persons died in government facilities. Among those who died, 108 had co-morbidities. Chennai accounted for 22 deaths, while Coimbatore recorded 11 deaths. Seven persons died in Salem, while Kanniyakumari and Tiruvallur saw six deaths each.

A 21-year-old woman with seizure disorder was admitted to a private hospital in Chennai on August 16 with complaints of fever for two days, cough and breathing difficulty. She died on August 19 due to COVID-19 pneumonia. A 25-year-old man from Perambalur died within two hours of admission to a government hospital in Ariyalur on August 19 due to COVID-19 pneumonia. He had cough for two days and breathing difficulty for a day. Three persons in their 30s also succumbed to the infection.

The number of samples tested in the last 24 hours stood at 75,076. With this, 39.88 lakh samples have been tested in the State so far.

A government laboratory — at Government Headquarters Hospital, Cuddalore — and two private laboratories — at Sundaram Hospital, Tiruchi, and Ashwin FED Speciality Hospital, Madurai — were approved for COVID-19 testing. This took the total number of testing facilities in the State to 139 (63 in the government sector and 76 in private sector).

Record spike in U.T.

In a record 24-hour spike in cases, Puducherry reported 554 admissions, while eight deaths raised the toll to 137 on Thursday.

Puducherry recorded seven deaths and Yanam one. The patients, including three women, were in the 48-80 age group.

Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao expressed concern that the average rise in cases was overshooting experts’ estimates, and reiterated his appeal to the public to comply with safety norms.

The new cases were detected from testing 1,388 samples, pushing the positivity rate to almost 40%. The fatality rate in Puducherry stood at 1.47% and recovery rate 60.63%.

The active cases rose to 3,521 (1,725 in home isolation), and the overall tally crossed the 9,000-mark (9,292). The number of patients who have recovered is 5,634, including 322 patients discharged during the last 24 hours.

The Department of Health has tested 59,757 samples so far and found 48,902 of them to be negative.

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