Officials put on alert as TN cases rise again

CHENNAI: COVID-19 infections in Tamil Nadu crossed the 1,600-mark again on Friday, the Health Department said. There were 1,631 new cases, pushing the total infections to 26,30,592 till date. Cautioning officials, including District Collectors and Chennai Corporation, that the State tally could go up, Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan asked them to be on alert against any surge. Noting the rise in cases in the recent days due to gradual increase in TPR, Radhakrishnan said it was worrying. He also stressed on the significance of the mega vaccination camp on Sunday in ensuring that those who have not caught the coronavirus infection yet developed immunity against it. Meanwhile, the Health Department has decided to set up exclusive wards to handle Nipah cases in headquarters hospitals at the districts that share a border with Kerala.

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu saw a surge in COVID cases on Friday and reported 1,631 cases, including an imported case from Malaysia. The total number of cases in the State so far stood at 26,30,592.

The number of active cases has increased to 16,304 cases, with the highest of 2,172 cases in Coimbatore, followed by 1,798 in Chennai.

The highest number of cases were reported in Coimbatore (235), followed by 174 in Chennai. Erode and Chengalpattu also saw a surge and reported 137 and 133 respectively. While the overall TPR stood at 1 per cent, the highest of 2.1 per cent was reported in Thanjavur. Chennai also saw a surge in TPR from 0.8 per cent to 0.9 per cent.

As many as 25 deaths were reported in the State, taking the total number of deaths to 35,119. The highest of five deaths were reported in Coimbatore.

As many as 1,523 people were discharged from several hospitals across the State, taking total recoveries to 25,79,169. In the past 24 hours, 1,57,689 people were tested. With the increase in cases, the State health department has instructed all the districts to increase the testing.