On a day when Tamil Nadu’s COVID-19 tally breached the 15,000-mark and Chennai recorded its sharpest single-day spike, the toll rose to 103 with the death of five persons in the State.
The 759 fresh cases took the State’s total to 15,512* on Saturday. Of this, Chennai reported 625 cases, taking its total to 9,989. Another 363 persons were discharged from hospitals.
With this, a total of 7,491 persons have been discharged, leaving the State with 7,915 active cases.
All five deaths were reported in Chennai. A 67-year-old man with chronic kidney disease died in a private hospital on May 20, while a 75-year-old woman died at the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital. Two men — a 68-year-old and 54-year-old — died at RGGGH, while a 53-year-old man died at Govt. Medical College Hospital, Omandurar Estate.
The State’s mortality rate stood at 0.66%. The majority of deaths among COVID-19 patients was due to respiratory distress and respiratory failure. Senior government doctors said that the involvement of both the lungs was the major cause of death among patients. “When the lungs are affected, the oxygen saturation in the blood reduces. There are cases of asymptomatic hypoxemia among COVID-19 patients. In cases of COVID pneumonia, many patients are unaware that they are sinking. This is why we check patients with finger pulse oximeters, segregate those with low oxygen saturation levels, and monitor them frequently,” a doctor explained.
Apart from Chennai, Chengalpattu reported 39 cases, Tiruvallur 17 and Kancheepuram 13 cases. There were six new cases in Tiruvannamalai, four in Villupuram, two in Tenkasi, and one each in Cuddalore, Madurai, Pudukottai, Ranipet and Theni.
In addition, 49 persons, who had returned from other States and countries, tested positive for COVID-19. Of this, 24 persons, who returned from Maharashtra, tested positive in Cuddalore, Salem, Tiruvannamalai, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Virudhunagar. Six persons from Rajasthan, three from West Bengal and one each from Delhi, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh also tested positive.
Seven persons, who had returned from London, and five persons, who returned from the Philippines, tested positive during exit screening.
A total of 12,155 samples were tested, taking the total number of samples tested so far to 3,97,340. One more private laboratory — Vivek Laboratories, Kanniyakumari — was approved for COVID-19 testing. As of now, there are 68 testing facilities in the State.
(*This is inclusive of two deaths cross-notified to other States and one patient who died after testing negative for the infection)
