Tamil Nadu reports 1,685 new cases & 21 deaths, numbers continue to mount

In the biggest single-day spike, Tamil Nadu on Tuesday recorded 1,685 fresh COVID-19 patients with over 1,500 of them belonging to this metropolis and its three neighbouring districts alone underlining “high-prevalence” of the virus in and around the city.

The increase in the number of people testing positive for the coronavirus came even as the number of samples tested on Tuesday was 1,763 lesser than 14,982 samples that were sent to the testing labs on Monday. But the number of positive cases is 123 higher than Monday’s 1,562. The state’s COVID-19 tally now stands at 34,914, including 18,325 discharges and 307 deaths.

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Tuesday also saw Tamil Nadu reporting its biggest single-day spike in the number of deaths with 21 people being reported as having lost their lives by the Health Department. While five people had no comorbidities, the remaining 15 had one or multiple comorbidities at the time of admission to various government and private hospitals.

Of the 21 deaths reported on Tuesday, all but one hailed from Chennai, whose individual death toll mounted to 244. Of these, nine were below the age of 60. The increase in the number of people succumbing to COVID-19 is the cause of concern for the state which is now grappling to contain the spread of the virus, which is out in the open.

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The situation in Chennai continues to be grim with 24,545 cases as on Tuesday even as beds in government hospitals and COVID-19 care centers run by the state administration are fasting filling up. Though people in large numbers have taken to the social media to complain about non-availability of beds in both government and private facilities, the government maintains it has enough beds to accommodate patients who test positive.

As allegations flew thick and fast, Health Minister C Vijayabaskar said the government was setting up another 1,100 beds spread over three hospitals in the city to accommodate COVID-19 patients. He said a COVID-19 special facility is being set up at the King Institute in Guindy with 500 beds and an ICU.

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On Tuesday alone, 1,243 persons from Chennai tested positive for coronavirus and if one adds the numbers from the three neighbouring districts of Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu and Kanchipuram, the number goes up to 1,523 which is over 90 percent of the cases reported. And, surprisingly, the government, which should test more people now, has been decreasing the number of tests gradually for the past two days. While it tested 16,275 samples on June 7, it came down to 14,982 on June 8 and further down to 13,219 on June 9.

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Despite the samples being reduced, the number of cases has been on the rise, which experts say is due to “high-prevalence” of the virus in the community. And nearly 18,000 of the total cases in Chennai are from seven zones, three of which houses the most crowded and over-populated areas in the city.