■ Tamil Nadu adds half mn COVID cases in 25 days

CHENNAI: In less than a month after it recorded a million cases, Tamil Nadu’s total COVID-19 cases went beyond 1.5 million on Friday. The State added a whopping 5,28,985 cases in 25 days since April 19 when the tally crossed the 10 lakh mark. It also notified 3,899 COVID deaths during this period.

On Friday, Tamil Nadu recorded 31,892 new cases, including seven imported cases from other States, to take the total to 15,31,377.

Meanwhile, the number of fresh cases reported in Chennai declined for the second consecutive day on Friday, with the city recording 6,538 cases. This is 453 less than the cases reported on Thursday. So far, Chennai has recorded 4,25,603 cases, of which 44,313 are currently active cases.

The deaths due to the infection also saw a slight dip in the State.

Of the 288 deaths notified in Tamil Nadu, 74 were reported from Chennai – lesser than the number added on Thursday. Chengalpattu notified 21 deaths, followed by Salem with 18, and Kancheepuram with 17. Tiruvallur in the city neighbourhood added 14 deaths. Adding these, the toll due to the pandemic in the State stands at 17,056 on Friday.

Among other districts, Coimbatore recorded 3,197 cases, Chengalpattu had 2,225 cases, Tiruvannamalai 1,410 cases, Madurai 1,250 cases, Tiruchy 1,224 cases, and Kanniyakumari 1,025 cases.

The bulletin from the State Health Department added that 20,037 persons were discharged after treatment, taking the total recoveries in Tamil Nadu to 13,18,982. The number of samples tested for the infection in the last 24 hours was 1.60 lakh, taking the total to 2.4 crore samples so far.

Number of fresh cases reported in Chennai declined for the second consecutive day on Friday, with the city recording 6,538 cases