TN: Death toll past 100; cases cross 15K-mark

CHENNAI: Five people died of COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu on Saturday taking the death toll to over 100 as the state is grappling with the contagion witnessing 759 fresh cases, the health department has said.

Among the fresh cases, 49 of them arrived to the state from various places, a bulletin issued by the department said.

A 75-year-old woman and four men, all from Chennai and suffering from various ailments, succumbed totalling the death toll to 103 in the state.

Of those infected were two one-month-old babies from Kancheepuram and Chennai, the bulletin said. Twenty-one employees of various companies, including those of an automobile manufacturing in neighbouring Sriperumbudur, were among the latest COVID19 cases, health department sources said. According to a senior health department official, 18 of them include workers employed at Nokia Solutions and Networks India facility at Sriperumbudur.

To a query, Nokia spokesperson said operations at the unit were suspended and they have undertaken further fumigation and sanitisation activities The state also saw 363 people getting discharged taking the total to 7,491, the bulletin said. Chennai leads in the maximum number of positive cases among districts with 624 being added to list on Saturday totaling 9,989 till date. With the latest cases, the cumulative COVID-19 positive tally also crossed the 15,000mark to touch 15,512.