COVID: TN Logs 16,096 New Cases, 35 Deaths

The total active cases as of today further decreased to 1,88,599 from 1,98,130 on Monday, according to a bulletin from the state health department. Maintaining that the state was witnessing a steady decline in fresh Coronavirus cases, principal secretary of health and family welfare J Radhakrishnan claimed even the death rate declined to about 10 to 12 per cent from about 30 per cent few days ago.

"The positive cases, especially the variants, still pose a challenge. The next two weeks will be crucial, so people should not disregard COVID-19 safety precautions," he urged. Also, the active cases plunged below two lakh, he added.

The infection, which peaked to 30,744 cases on January 22, fell below the 20,000 mark on January 31 and further declined to 16,096 cases today. The state saw 35 fatalities in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 37,599. A passenger each from UAE, Qatar and Sri Lanka, who tested positive today, were among the fresh cases today.

Chennai with 2,348 new infections, Coimbatore 1,897, Chengalpattu 1,308 and Tiruppur 1,297 are among the top 4 out of 38 districts in the state that accounted for maximum cases on Tuesday, the bulletin said. Ariyalur, Mayiladuthurai, Perambalur, Sivaganga and Vellore districts saw fresh infections below 100 while Erode, Kanyakumari, Salem and Thiruvallur registered cases above 500.

With 5,127 persons getting discharged today, Chennai's total recoveries mounted to 6,93,929 and the fatalities including 18 deaths today, rose to 8,960. The metro accounted for 7,34,734 positive cases while the active cases stood at 31,845, the bulletin said.

?Earlier, inspecting the Government Girls Higher Secondary School at Ashok Nagar here, on the first day of school reopening in Tamil Nadu, Radhakrishnan interacted with the students to ascertain their awareness on precautions to be taken during this pandemic times. Speaking to reporters, he said about 77.83 percent of 33.46 lakh school students in the 15 to 18 year-old category, who are eligible for vaccination, have been given the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

With PTI Inputs