Tamil Nadu reported 1,843 fresh cases of COVID-19 and 44 deaths on Monday. This took the State’s overall case tally to 46,504*, while the death toll rose to 479.
As many as 797 persons were discharged from hospitals, taking the total figure beyond the 25,000-mark, while 20,678 persons were undergoing treatment. The State’s mortality rate stood at 1.03%.
Chennai accounted for 1,257 of the fresh cases. With this, the city’s case count reached 33,244, including 17,476 who had been discharged, 15,385 active cases and 382 deaths.
Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar said that a total of 1,85,000 samples had been tested in Chennai, which has a population of 87 lakh. “The city is overcrowded, and hence, the numbers are high,” he said.
Of the 44 persons who died (32 in government hospitals and 12 in private hospitals) in the last three days, 11 did not have co-morbidities. Four of the deceased were in their 30s, while six were in their 40s. A 32-year-old man, a resident of Tiruvallur, was admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) with bronchial asthma on June 14. He died on the same day due to cardiopulmonary arrest, COVID-19 pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome and respiratory failure.
A 34-year-old resident of Chennai, who had no co-morbidities, died at RGGGH on Sunday due to cardiopulmonary arrest, COVID-19 pneumonia and respiratory failure, while a 35-year-old woman died at the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital due to bronchopneumonia and respiratory failure.
A 39-year-old man with systemic hypertension was admitted to the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital on June 8. He died on June 14 due to sepsis, septic encephalopathy and bronchopneumonia. A 42-year-old man from Chennai was admitted to a private hospital on June 12 with complaints of cough, fever, breathing difficulties for three days and loose stools for five days. He died on June 13 due to multi-organ dysfunction syndrome and acute respiratory distress syndrome.
With 120 new infections, the overall case count in Chengalpattu surpassed the 3,000-mark. There were 50 cases in Tiruvallur, 39 in Kancheepuram, 34 each in Ranipet and Thoothukudi, 33 in Madurai, 32 in Tiruvannamalai and 27 in Cuddalore. Fifty-four of the new cases were persons who had returned from abroad and from other States. They included 18 returnees from Maharashtra.
A total of 7,29,002 samples have been tested in the State so far, including the 18,403 samples tested on Monday.
The Minister, in response to criticism from DMK leader M.K. Stalin, said, “Do not politicise the numbers (number of positive cases). The government is transparent about the facts.”
He added that it was wrong for Mr. Stalin to say that the State government was struggling to control COVID-19.
“The aim of the government is to detect positive cases — that is why we are testing more — and to prevent deaths,” he added.
Noting that facilities in government hospitals were being scaled up, he said, “There are 17,500 beds in Greater Chennai Corporation limits. In government medical college hospitals in the city, 5,000 beds have been readied. A total of 75,000 beds are ready in the State. All facilities are being scaled up, and oxygen lines are being readied. COVID-19 Care Centres are also being scaled up.”
“As of date, the details of 162 private hospitals are available on the portal stopcorona.tn.gov.in. A total of 7,042 beds are vacant,” he said.
He added that the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation had procured and distributed Tocilizumab, a life-saving and costly drug, to government hospitals, and was procuring another drug — remdesivir.
(*This is inclusive of two deaths cross-notified to other States and one patient who died after testing negative for the infection)
