COVID-19 infections spiked in Tamil Nadu on Sunday, with 28,897 people testing positive, taking the tally of cases to 13,80,259. Among those who tested positive were 14 passengers from Andhra Pradesh; nine from West Bengal; three from Bihar; and one each from Jharkhand and Karnataka.
In the last 24 hours, the State recorded the death of 236 persons — 47 who had no pre-existing conditions and 189 persons with co-morbidities — pushing the toll to 15,648. As many as 23,515 persons were discharged after treatment. With this, 12,20,064 persons have been discharged. The State has 1,44,547 persons under treatment either at hospitals or at home.
In its daily bulletin, the Directorate of Public Health reported 7,130 fresh cases and the discharge of 6,884 persons in Chennai. The district also recorded 56 deaths. It has 32,863 active cases. So far, 3,90,589 persons have been infected and 3,52,517 have been discharged. The district has so far recorded 5,209 deaths.
While 85 persons admitted to private hospitals had been declared to have died of the infection, the government hospitals reported 151 deaths.
An 18-year-old youth from Thoothukudi, who was admitted to the Thoothukudi Medical College Hospital on April 29, tested positive on May 5. He died on May 7 owing to acute respiratory distress syndrome and COVID-19 pneumonia.
A 93-year-old diabetic man with coronary artery disease from Chengalpattu tested positive on May 2. He was admitted the same day to a private hospital in Chennai with complaints of fever, cough and breathing difficulty for 10 days. He died of COVID-19 pneumonia on May 6.
Of the 6,669 beds earmarked for COVID-19 patients, 3,551 have been occupied and 3,118 are vacant, the bulletin said.
Vaccination update
A total of 25,448 persons were vaccinated during the 2,361 sessions held on Sunday. While 1,232 healthcare workers were inoculated, as many as 2,356 frontline workers, 12,190 persons in the 45-59 age group with co-morbidities and 9,670 senior citizens were among those vaccinated.
