Covid-19: Tamil Nadu reports 1,484 new cases, 632 in Chennai

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With the surge in new cases, the government asked secretaries and collectors to follow up on appropriate COVID-19 behaviour, including proper wearing of masks, at institutions under their control.

The total recoveries increased to 34,24,293 till date and it includes 736 people who were discharged after treatment in the last 24 hours, according a bulletin from the State health department here.

Five passengers including 2 from the USA and 1 each from Fiji, Qatar and Assam who returned to Tamil Nadu were among the 1,484 who were infected.

The active cases in State rose to 8,970 from 8,222 a day ago.

Among those who tested positive today were 815 men and 669 women, the bulletin said.

Chennai continues to account for the maximum infections at 632, followed by Chengalpattu with 239 cases while Coimbatore saw 70 new infections.

Among those infected in Chennai are 11 students at the Madras Medical College here. They have been isolated and are being treated.

Meanwhile, Principal Health Secretary Dr P Senthilkumar said genomic sequence analysis has revealed increased presence of BA.5, BA.2.38 and other variants of the virus in the state.

“Experts have opined that these variants can be a reason for increase of positive cases in the State,” he said in an
official communication to, among others, Additional Chief Secretaries and district collectors.

While 26 per cent of the people have got the infection from their visit to markets, malls and common places, 18 per cent have been infected at workplaces.

He told the officials that at institutions under their control, thermal scanning should be undertaken and those with high fever should be sent for testing and isolation.

Proper wearing of masks, hand sanitisation, cross-ventilation of rooms were the other instructions issued to the
officials concerned.