Tamil Nadu recorded 771 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, with three districts — Chennai, Ariyalur and Cuddalore — accounting for 78% of the cases. With this latest spike, the State’s total number of COVID-19 cases climbed to 4,829*.
Two more persons died in Chennai, taking the total number of deaths in the State to 35. A 68-year-old man, who was admitted to the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital, died at 6.15 p.m. on Wednesday.
A 59-year-old man admitted to the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital on May 3 died at 7 p.m. on May 5, according to a bulletin issued by the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. A total of 13,413 samples were tested on Wednesday, the highest number till date. Testing of 871 samples was under process.
Koyambedu cluster
With the emergence of the Koyambedu cluster, new cases are surpassing the previous day’s high.
Additionally, more districts are reporting new cases in the last few days.
A large proportion of the day’s numbers — 771 (575 men and 196 women) — are linked to the Koyambedu cluster. All were contacts of COVID-19 positive patients. A total of 24 districts reported fresh cases.
It was another spike in Chennai, with 324 cases. This took the city’s total cases to 2,328.
Ariyalur reported its highest single-day increase with 188 cases.
From 34 cases till May 5, the district’s total positive cases climbed to 222. With 95 more cases, Cuddalore’s tally crossed the 300-mark. Kancheepuram reported 45 new cases.
There were 34 cases in Tiruvallur, 20 in Madurai, 17 in Tiruvannamalai, nine each in Chengalpattu and Dindigul, six in Vellore, five in Villupuram, three in Perambalur, two each in Krishnagiri, Pudukottai Theni and Thoothukudi, and one each in Karur, Salem Tenkasi, Thanjavur, Tirupattur, Tiruvarur, Tirunelveli and Tiruchi.
With the new cases, four districts — Ariyalur, Dindigul, Madurai, Tiruvallur — crossed the 100-mark on Wednesday.
Of the 324 new patients in Chennai, nearly 100 were admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital, Omandurar Estate.
Patients admitted
Thirty-five patients were admitted to the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, while 87 persons were admitted to the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital.
There were 48 admissions to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital till late Wednesday. The hospital shifted 51 patients to quarantine facilities.
Another 41 children — aged between 0 and 12 years — tested positive. As on date, a total of 254 children aged between 0 and 12 years, 4,208 persons aged between 13 and 60 years and 367 persons aged above 60 years tested positive for COVID-19 in the State.
Till date, a total of 1,88,241 samples were tested in the State. With 13,281 individuals tested on Wednesday, the total number of individuals tested till now stands at 1,78,472.
Another 31 persons were discharged from hospitals. So far, a total of 1,516 persons have been discharged in the State. A total of 3,381 persons suspected to have symptoms of COVID-19 are admitted to isolation wards.
(* This is inclusive of two deaths cross notified to other states and one patient who died after testing negative for the infection)
