Puducherry recorded its lowest infection rate of under 6% in several months, with 245 new COVID-19 cases being detected from 4,649 tests on Thursday.
The Union Territory registered two deaths on Thursday. A 68-year-old woman in Puducherry and a 60-year-old man in Karaikal were the casualties. The cumulative death count in Puducherry is 472 followed by Karaikal (52), Yanam (42) and Mahe (four).
The test positivity rate was 5.26%, case fatality rate 1.75% and the recovery rate 84.24%.
Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi said the Union Home Secretary had, in a virtual review meeting convened by the Home Affairs and Health and Family Welfare Ministries, appreciated the efforts of the Health Department in reducing mortality and augmenting testing.
ICMR epidemiology expert Prabhdeep Kaur had shared her views on the encouraging progress on the COVID-19 management front, Ms. Bedi said. Dr. Kaur had stressed onthe importance of detecting cases in indoor settings early to prevent outbreaks through sustained testing of staff in bars, malls and markets.
It was imperative to test all contacts of any government or private sector employee who tests positive and to check with patients about other cases at their respective workplaces.
The Lt. Governor cautioned that the real test was yet to come with the commencement of the festive season.
Health Minister Malladi Krishna Rao said the tally in Puducherry stood at 32,486 after the transfer of four patients to Tamil Nadu’s tally.
The capital accounted for 174 new cases on Thursday, Karaikal 39, Yanam five and Mahe 27. Among the 213 patients discharged after recovery, 178 were in Puducherry, 16 in Karaikal, seven in Yanam and 12 in Mahe.
The toll stands at 570 with 4,551 active cases, including 2,899 patients under home quarantine and 27,365 patients recovered.
The Health Department has to date carried out 2,50,582 tests of which 2,14,793 returned negative results.
120 cases in Cuddalore
As many as 120 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Cuddalore district on Thursday. The district’s tally has touched 22,163 and the toll is 258. The Health Department said there were 906 active cases while 130 persons recovered.
Villupuram district reported 65 fresh cases, taking its total to 12,859. Kallakurichi district reported 40 cases, taking the tally to 9,829.
