CHENNAI: The State recorded a whopping 99 fresh deaths on Saturday, the highest single-day figure yet, taking the toll up to 4,034. Fresh cases, however, seemed to have stabilised well below the 6,000-mark, with 5,879 people testing positive. Maximum number of deaths were reported from Chennai (27), followed by Madurai and Coimbatore (10 each).
Chennai crossed yet another grim milestone by recording over 1 lakh total cases, though the curve seems to be flattening. The city recorded only 1,074 fresh cases on Saturday. According to officials, the number of cases reported in the city has significantly come down. Chennai, which saw around 2,400 cases a day in the first week of July, reported less than 50 per cent of it in August.
Though Chennai’s caseload contributed only to a fifth of the day’s tally, the combined contribution of its neighbours went higher than the city’s figure. The districts of Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Tiruvallur and Vellore, which are close to the city, together contributed 1,184 cases on Saturday.
A substantial number of cases was also reported from Theni (327), Tiruvannamalai (242) and Virudhunagar (286). On a positive note, Virudhunagar, which once reported over 400 cases a day, has seen a significant reduction in the number of cases.
With 60,580 tests done on Saturday, the total number of people tested across the State touched 26,18,512. This put the State’s positivity rate at 9.6 per cent. Meanwhile, the government temporarily revoked the Covid-19 treatment licence of Bewell private hospital in Kilpauk for charging a patient Rs 12.2 lakh for a 19-day treatment.