CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu reported 5,834 new Covid-19 cases and 118 deaths on Tuesday, taking the tally to 3,08,649 and death toll to 5,159.
Chennai alone recorded 986 cases while its neighbouring districts of Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur reported 388, 330, and 362 cases respectively. Cases continue to surge in other districts too with Theni reporting 297 cases, Salem 206 and Cuddalore 281 cases.
The State tested 67,492 samples and 65,490 people on the day. Another private lab -- Vivekanandha Medical Care Hospital, Tiruchengode -- has been approved for Covid testing. As a result, the State now has 131 labs, of which 61 are government labs. As many as 6,005 people were discharged after treatment on the day.
Eleven of the deceased did not have any comorbid conditions. Among them is a 28-year-old Covid-19 woman from Tiruvarur. She was admitted on in Thanjavur Medical College Hospital on August 3 and died on August 7 due to respiratory failure, cortical venous sinus thrombosis, aspiration pneumonitis, new-onset seizures, and cerebral venous thrombosis, a media bulletin issued by the Directorate of Public Health said.
Meanwhile, health minister C Vijayabaskar, in a press release, said that as per Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami's order, besides Covid treatment, government hospitals were also handling non-Covid cases, at a time when many private hospitals were closed. From March till Tuesday, the State government hospitals had treated 5,09,02,183 people as out-patients, and 27,30,864 as in-patients, he said.
The hospitals also performed 1,80,571 deliveries and 68,479 caesarian sections. As many as 1,29,206 deliveries took place at the 126 Comprehensive Emergency Obstetrics and Newborn Care (CEmONC) centres, while 33,374 newborns were treated in Neonatal Intensive Care Units, the minister said.