TN reports 6,426 COVID-19 cases,82 fatalities;recovery rate up

The government said that with sustained testing and treatment strategies, recovery went up to 73 per cent, while the fatality rate was 1.6 per cent. The number of recoveries continued to be on the upswing today with 5,927 people getting discharged from hospitals, totalling to 1,72,883, a health department bulletin said.

(Eds: Combining related stories) Chennai, Jul 29 (PTI): Tamil Nadu's COVID-19 infection count rose to 2,34,114 with the addition of 6,426 fresh cases on Wednesday, while the death toll surged to 3,741 with 82 fatalities. The government said that with sustained testing and treatment strategies, recovery went up to 73 per cent, while the fatality rate was 1.6 per cent.

The number of recoveries continued to be on the upswing today with 5,927 people getting discharged from hospitals, totalling to 1,72,883, a health department bulletin said. Active cases stood at 57,490.

A total of 60,794 samples were tested today, taking the number of specimens tested so far to 25,36,660, the bulletin said. Chennai reported 1,117 fresh cases and the cumulative count stood at 97,575.

According to the bulletin, of the 6,426 new cases, 33 were returnees from various locations. Among the COVID-19 victims, seven of them were without any comorbidity, the bulletin said.

Two women in the age of 20 and 22 respectively were among the victims who died due to 'cardio respiratory arrest'. Chennai contributed to the majority of infections and its deaths crossed the unenviable milestone of 2,000 today with 2,076 people succumbing to the virus in the State capital, of the total 3,741 reported from Tamil Nadu.

Chennai's neighbouring three districts Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur and Chengalpet contributed 1,295 fresh cases. Other districts like Virudhunagar (370), Tirunelveli 379, Tuticorin 316, Madurai (225), Coimbatore (289), Ranipet (182), Salem (122) Tiruchirappalli (136) and Vellore (105) also saw a surge in the number of new infections.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami, addressing District Collectors from the Secretariat in a virtual meeting, said expeditious measures taken by his government to contain the spread of the contagion has helped reduce the fatality rate to 1. 6 per cent, besides enhancing recovery to 73 per cent. He attributed aggressive detection and treating of positive cases and constant upscaling the facilities for the effective handling of the pandemic.

"Overcoming the challenges posed by the coronavirus, the government strived to improve the health of the people, besides the fiscal health of the state. The government ensured uninterrupted availability of essential commodities during the four months of lockdown (March-June)", he said.

Apart from conducting fever clinics for early detection and treatment of cases both in Chennai and rest of Tamil Nadu, the government has established 1,196 mobile camps throughout the state, including 70 in Chennai to detect the new cases, he said. "Chennai has a high recovery rate of 84.5 per cent while for Tamil Nadu it stood at 73 per cent", he said.