TN records highest 1-day surge of 2,396

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu reported a record single-day spike of 2,396 fresh Covid-19 cases on Saturday, registering over 2,000 infections for a fourth straight day as the overall tally rose to 56,845 in the state, the state health department said.

Also, 38 people succumbed to the virus, taking the toll in the state to 704.

This is the fourth consecutive day the state has recorded over 2,000 Covid-19 cases, the department said in a bulletin.

The government which has been increasing the number of samples tested, said it recorded an all-time high today by testing 33,231 taking the cumulative tally to 8,61,211 till date.

Chennai continued to clock a majority of the cases among districts with 1,254 today, pushing the overall tally to 39,641 till date.

As many as 1,045 were discharged across the state on Saturday, taking the number of recoveries to 31,316 in the state.

The number of active cases currently stands at 24,822, the bulletin said.

Among the 2,396 fresh cases, 64 of them were returnees from other states and countries, the bulletin said adding 1,499 were men while 897 women contracted the contagion.

While Chennai continued to top the list of infections among districts, neighbouring Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur and Chengalpet also reported higher number of cases.

The number of total cases in Chengalpet stood at 3,620 while Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur have so far reported 1,095 and 2,414 infections respectively.

Among the 38 fatalities reported today, five were without comorbidities which include a 26-year-old man from neighbouring Tiruvallur, the bulletin said.

He was admitted on June 14 at Vellore Medical College hospital and died on June 19 due to severe acute respiratory illness, it added.

A 91-year old man from the city suffering from type-ii Diabetes Mellitus was among those who lost their lives due to comorbidities, the department said.

The state capital also leads in the number of fatalities at 554 of the total 704.

It may be noted that the government has announced a 12-day lockdown which came into effect from Friday as part of its measures to curb the spread of the virus.

Of the total 56,845 virus cases reported so far, 47,277 are people in the age group of 13 and 60 years while 2,804 are children below the age of 12 and 6,764 are above the age of 60, the bulletin said.