CHENNAI: The State recorded a staggering 2,710 new Covid-19 cases, the highest-ever single day spike, and 37 deaths on Monday. The Statewide tally is 62,087 and the toll, 794. Chennai alone recorded cases 1,487 cases, raising the city’s tally to 42,752.
While 66 per cent of new cases were reported from Chennai and its surrounding districts of Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu and Tiruvallur, 34 per cent came from the rest of the State. Madurai led the pack with 153 new Covid patients being added to its tally. As a result, the district and neighbouring areas will be entering a complete lockdown from Wednesday till June 30.
Meanwhile, Health Minister C Vijayabaskar, in a televised address, reiterated that the government was not hiding any information related to Covid and had also ramped up testing. “Even Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami took a test and it was negative,” he said, adding that Tamil Nadu, has so far conducted 9,19,204 tests, the highest in the country. The State also tested 25,234 persons on Monday.
News of the CM testing negative comes days after a senior private secretary in his office died of Covid. A few of the deceased’s contacts at work had also tested positive.
Responding to charges levelled by DMK chief M K Stalin, Vijayabaskar said even experts could not predict the disease pattern in coming days. “When such is the situation, Stalin is finding fault with the CM’s reply to a reporter on when the cases will come down. This is not fair,” he asserted.
Noting that many doctors and frontline warriors were rejoining duty after contracting and recovering from the virus, he revealed that the dean of the nodal Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital had also tested positive.
Referring to epidemiological surveys, he said currently it is taking over 15 days for the number of cases to double in the State. “Earlier it was six-seven days. So, it is an indicator that the State is going in the right direction,” he said.