Another 5,990 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, taking the State’s tally to 4,39,959. Chennai accounted for 1,025 of the fresh cases, while Coimbatore’s daily count stood at 579. Cuddalore and Salem each saw 400-plus cases.
While 5,891 persons were discharged from hospitals after treatment, another 98 persons (57 in government hospitals and 41 in private ones), including three non-agenarians, succumbed to the infection. With this, a total of 3,80,063 persons have been discharged in the State so far, while the toll has touched 7,516.
Of the fatalities, Chennai recorded 19, while nine persons died in Kanniyakumari and eight in Chengalpattu.
Fatalities recorded
A 37-year-old man from Tiruvallur had tested positive for COVID-19 on August 20. He was admitted to a private hospital with complaints of fever, cough and breathing difficulties on August 31, but died within a few minutes of admission due to COVID-19 pneumonia. He had no co-morbidities.
Among the three nonagenarians was a 91-year-old woman who was admitted to a private hospital in Vellore on August 28 with complaints of cough for three days, breathing difficulty for a day and myalgia for three days. She died on August 31 due to acute respiratory distress syndrome and COVID-19 pneumonia, according to a bulletin issued by the Health Department.
Of the fresh cases, Cuddalore recorded 405 and Salem 402. Chengalpattu and Tiruvallur saw 390 and 285 cases respectively, while Villupuram had 224 and Tiruvannamalai 213.
Ten districts had 100-plus cases each. Apart from these indigenous cases, 28 persons who returned from other States and abroad tested positive for COVID-19.
The number of children below 12 years who have tested positive for COVID-19 till now crossed the 20,000-mark. Till date, 20,131 children and 57,306 persons aged over 60 have tested positive for the infection in the State.
A total of 49,64,141 samples, including 75,829 in the last 24 hours, have been tested in the State.
The Government District Head Quarters Hospital in Usilampatti, Madurai, and a private facility — the Gudalur Adivasi Hospital in the Nilgiris — have been approved for COVID-19 testing.
With this, there are now a total of 64 testing facilities in the government sector and 90 in private.
