Tamil Nadu’s daily case count dropped under 800 on Friday. A total of 790 persons tested positive for the infection, taking its tally to 8,24,776.
As many as 897 persons were discharged following treatment, while eight more persons succumbed to the infection. Till date, 8,05,136 persons have been discharged. The State’s toll stood at 12,208.
Among the fresh cases, Chennai reported 208, followed by Coimbatore (79) and Chengalpattu (58). There were 34 cases in Tiruppur, 32 in Tiruvallur and 31 in Kancheepuram. While Perambalur recorded no new case, 15 districts saw under 10 each. Two returnees from the U.A.E. tested positive for COVID-19.
Presently, there are 7,432 active cases in the State, including 2,231 in Chennai, 731 in Coimbatore, 419 in Chengalpattu and 335 in Tiruvallur. Of the eight fatalities — three in private hospitals and five in government facilities — Chennai accounted for four. Coimbatore, Dindigul, Erode and Theni reported one death each. All of them were aged over 50 and had co-morbidities.
A 58-year-old man from Dindigul, who had diabetes, was admitted to a private hospital in Madurai, with complaints of fever and myalgia for four days, and difficulty in breathing for two, on December 21. He died on January 8 due to COVID-19 pneumonia.
A 52-year-old man from Chennai, with hypertension, diabetes and coronary artery disease, died at a private hospital on January 7, due to acute respiratory distress syndrome and COVID-19 pneumonia. He was admitted on December 28, with complaints of fever and cough for five days, and difficulty in breathing for a day. A 64-year-old woman from Chennai was brought dead to the Government Medical College Hospital, Omandurar Estate, on January 4. She had tested positive for COVID-19 on January 2, and her death was due to COVID-19 pneumonia.
In the last 24 hours, 64,231 samples were tested in the State, taking the total figure to 1,46,95,106. Three more private laboratories — Agaram Diagnostics in Coimbatore; Medline Diagnostics Pvt. Limited in Tiruchi and Hindlabs, a unit of HLL Lifecare Limited in Chennai — were approved for COVID-19 testing. There are now a total of 245 testing facilities in the State.
