In highest single-day spike, T.N. reports 805 fresh cases

549 patients take Chennai’s total past the 11,000-mark

Tamil Nadu reported 805 cases of COVID-19 on Monday, its highest single-day increase. With this, the tally reached 17,082* cases.

The new cases included 314 women. Chennai alone accounted for 549 cases. The city’s total stood at 11,131 cases. It accounted for 84 of the 118 deaths in the State, with seven more persons dying in government and private hospitals.

Though the State’s mortality rate continues to be below 0.7%, the number of deaths has been rising steadily.

A further 407 persons were discharged from hospitals in the State. With this, a total of 8,731 persons have been discharged so far after treatment.

The number of active cases stands at 8,230, while another 5,608 persons with suspected symptoms are admitted to isolation wards. Of the fresh cases, 93 persons had returned from other States — 87 from Maharashtra, three from Gujarat, two from Kerala and one from Andhra Pradesh, according to Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar.

“All these persons had returned to the State by road and were screened at the checkposts. In the last one week, 942 persons, who returned from other States, have tested positive for COVID-19 in T.N. This includes 726 persons who returned from Maharashtra, 21 from Gujarat, 15 from Delhi and 19 from West Bengal,” he said.

Among the seven who died was a 33-year-old man, a resident of Chennai. He died within 3.5 hours of admission to the Government Royapettah Hospital on May 23 due to septic shock and respiratory failure. His sample returned positive for SARS-CoV-2 a day later.

A 72 year-old man, who was referred from a private hospital to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) on May 23, died the next day due to cardiopulmonary arrest and COVID pneumonia. He was a diabetic and had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

A 55-year-old man with pulmonary tuberculosis died at RGGGH due to cardiopulmonary arrest and COVID pneumonia, according to the bulletin issued by the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. A 68-year-old man also died at RGGGH.

A 75-year-old man died of acute respiratory distress syndrome and respiratory failure at Government Medical College Hospital, Omandurar Estate, while an 86-year-old man from Chengalpattu, who was admitted with fever, died at a private hospital due to Type II respiratory failure. He had diabetes, bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

A 69-year-old woman died at a private hospital due to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome, the bulletin said.

With Chennai continuing to witness a surge in cases, health officials said public cooperation for containment measures and physical distancing was low in the city. “In Chennai, the problematic areas are Royapuram, Tondiarpet, Kodambakkam, Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, Anna Nagar and Teynampet. The main problem is overcrowding. When one person tests positive, their family members are also affected as houses are small in many of these areas. Moreover, people do not cooperate with containment measures. If a street is closed for containment measures, people continue to enter and roam around. No physical distancing is maintained,” a health official said.

Apart from Chennai, there were 54 new cases in Chengalpattu, 36 in Tiruvallur, 19 in Kancheepuram, 11 in Tiruvannamalai, five in Ramanathapuram, four each in Ranipet and Virudhunagar, two each in Kanniyakumari and Theni, and one each in Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Tiruchi.

In addition, five persons who were under airport quarantine and 15 persons who were under railway quarantine have tested positive for the infection. With this, 81 passengers who returned from other countries have tested positive, while 40 who initially tested negative for the infection turned positive during the exit screening after seven days. A total of 35 persons, who returned from other States and were kept under railway quarantine, have tested positive till date.

The Minister added that the operation of domestic flights posed a new challenge. “The Chief Minister had urged that the number of arrivals to the State be restricted to 25 flights, while there is no limit on the number of departures. Today, our medical team along with the Airports Authority of India screened 486 persons who arrived in 11 flights, while 1,211 persons, who left in 14 flights, were also screened,” he said.

Those arriving by flights will be checked for temperature and symptoms of Influenza Like Illness. If they have any symptoms, they will be taken to a hospital and tested. In case of no symptoms, they would receive an indelible ink stamp on their hand and should be under home quarantine for 14 days, he added. “They should adhere to the home quarantine norms, and we will monitor them,” he said.

So far, the State has tested a total of 4,21,450 samples that include the day’s 11,835 samples.

(*This is inclusive of two deaths cross-notified to other States and one patient who died after testing negative for the infection)