With 60 fresh cases, U.T.’s tally rises to 37,079

One more person succumbs to infection, taking toll to 612

Aggressive testing: A health worker segregating a sample collected at J.N. Street in Puducherry.

Puducherry reported 60 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, even as one more person succumbed to the infection.

The death of a 63-year-old woman, with kidney complications, gout and hypertension, at Jipmer, raised the Union Territory’s toll to 612. A total of 501 deaths have taken place in the capital, followed by Karaikal (59), Yanam (44) and Mahe (eight).

As many as 3,432 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. Puducherry accounted for 29 cases, Mahe 20 and Karaikal 11. No new cases were reported in Yanam.

Presently, there are 432 active cases in the U.T. Sixty-five more persons were discharged after treatment on Wednesday, and one case transferred to Tamil Nadu, Director of Health S. Mohan Kumar said.

Among those still under treatment, 152 persons are in hospitals and the rest under home isolation.

The test positivity rate stood at 1.74%, case fatality rate at 1.65% and recovery rate at 97.18%. The U.T.’s tally touched 37,079.

So far, 36,035 persons have been discharged after treatment.

Of the 4.08 lakh samples tested so far, 3.67 lakh have returned negative.

“The next couple of months will be crucial in containing the spread of COVID-19, on account of cold conditions and the festive season,” Dr. Kumar said.

He urged residents to wear masks, adhere to physical distancing norms and wash/sanitise hands frequently.