Tamil Nadu reported 716 new cases of COVID-19 and eight more deaths on Tuesday. Chennai, for the third consecutive day, added more than 500 cases to its total. The total number of cases in the State stood at 8,715.
Of the 716 new cases — 427 male, 288 female and one transgender — 60 were children aged 0 to 12. Among them were two two-month-old babies and a seven-month-old.
Though the State’s mortality rate was 0.69%, deaths were rising steadily. As on date, the Statewide toll was 61, with Chennai accounting for 39 deaths.
Meanwhile, two deaths and 51 fresh cases have been reported in Telangana. Andhra Pradesh reported one more COVID-19 death and 71 fresh cases on Tuesday.
Karnataka witnessed a record increase of 63 fresh cases raising the State’s tally of cases to 925.
The case total in Karnataka includes 31 COVID deaths, one non-COVID death and 433 discharged persons. Of the 460 active cases, 449 patients were stable and 11 in the ICU.
Of the new cases, 15 were from Bagalkot, 12 from Davangere, nine from Dharwad, five each from Hassan and Kolar, four from Bengaluru Urban, three from Gadag, two each from Yadgir, Bidar and Dakshina Kannada and one each from Kalaburgi, Chikkaballapur, Ballari and Mandya district.
Kolar, Yadgir and Hassan, which were COVID-19 free reported cases for the first time on Tuesday. With this, a total of 25 districts were affected.
Of 63 cases, 33 had a history of travel to Ahmedabad and six to Mumbai - both COVID hotspots. In the last three days, 51 people who came from Ahmedabad tested positive. Of the three from Kolar, two visited Orissa and one, Chennai.
Out of four patients from Bengaluru, three were women from Padarayanapura, contacts of a previously infected patient. However, the source of infection in a 35-old-year male was unknown.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Suresh Kumar, the COVID spokesperson, said all the Deputy Commissioners had prior information about inter-state returnees and they had been quarantined and tested.
With most people violating home quarantine, the government had decided to quarantine arrivals from other States and countries in institutional facilities.
The State Health Department issued a circular to isolate all COVID-19 suspected cases whose tests were inconclusive in isolation wards of dedicated Health Centers, till their repeat test result was known. They should not be kept in dedicated COVID hospitals, the circular stated.
In Andhra Pradesh 58 fresh cases were linked to hotspots in other States, the Health Department said.
Migrant workers
Of the fresh cases, only 13 were due to local transmission. Also, 930 migrant labourers returned from Kalyan near Mumbai and they transited Guntakal railway station en route to Kurnool, Anantapur and Kadapa after which they were immediately tested.
Of 250 persons, 38 tested positive (Kurnool: 37, Kadapa: 1) and more cases were expected in other districts, Special Chief Secretary (Health, Medical and Family Welfare) K.S. Jawahar Reddy said. On the other hand, all fresh cases in Chittoor (10), Nellore (9) and East Godavari (1) were linked to the Koyambedu market in Chennai. The remaining fresh cases were in Krishna (4) where a patient died, and Kurnool (9).
Among migrant labourers who returned to Vizianagaram and Srikakulam district, only a few positive cases were reported, he said.
Five new cases were reported in Kerala, four of whom had come from the Gulf sector, while one had returned home from Chennai. Three of these cases were at Malappuram and one each at Pathanamthitta and Kottayam.
In Telangana , two deaths and 51 fresh cases took the number of cases to 1,326.
With two deaths, the number of people who succumbed rose to 32, a bulletin said. It added that 21 people were discharged from hospitals after recovery, with the number of people discharged at 822. There were 472 people under treatment. Of new cases, 37 were from Greater Hyderabad.
(With inputs from PTI, Vijayawada, Hyderabad & Thiruvananthapuram Bureaus)
