less than 10 people infected in 19 districts; No new cases were reported in Ariyalur, Mayiladuthurai, Perambalur, Ranipet, Tenkasi and Theni
A total of 604 persons tested positive for COVID-19 from 1,01,713 RT-PCR tests on Wednesday, taking the tally to 27,41,617 in the state.
Five passengers, including one coming from Andhra Pradesh and two each from the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates, were among the fresh infections identified on Wednesday.
Over 22% of the new cases, amounting to 136, were identified in Chennai. In Coimbatore, 94 tested positive in the last 24 hours. No new cases were reported in six districts – Ariyalur, Mayiladuthurai, Perambalur, Ranipet, Tenkasi and Theni. Less than 10 people got infected in 19 districts.
Erode (47), Tiruppur (48), Salem (33) and Namakkal (29) reported the highest number of infections in the western districts. Among the northern districts, Chengalpattu (43), Tiruvallur (20) and Kancheepuram (15) had the highest number of cases.
695 people were discharged, taking the number of cured people to 26,97,939. At present, 6,979 are undergoing treatment.
The state also recorded eight deaths, including five in government health facilities and three in private hospitals. According to the daily health bulletin of the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, 36,699 casualties have been reported so far.
All the deaths recorded were due to comorbidities in the patients. The oldest person to succumb to the infection was an 82-year-old man from Krishnagiri, who had type-2 diabetes, severe hypertension and coronary artery disease. He was admitted to Krishnagiri Medical College Hospital on December 11 and tested positive for the infection the next day. He died a few hours later, and the hospital recorded his death as due to COVID-19 pneumonia.
Earlier in the day, Health Minister Mr. Subramaniam said the state will organize a big vaccination camp on Sunday, and an estimated 92 lakh people are expected to benefit.
In the last 24 hours, 1,54,626 people have benefited from 3,412 vaccination camps.
The beneficiaries include 26 health workers; 137 frontline workers; 86,767 persons in the age group of 18 to 44 years; and 43,148 individuals in the age group of 45 to 59 years. 24,548 senior citizens were also vaccinated, taking the total number of persons vaccinated so far to 7,82,58,992.
A total of 2,599 people have been shot in private hospitals. Since May 1, private centers have vaccinated 28,06,162 people.
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