Tamil Nadu COVID-19 Wrap: SPB stable but on ventilator; state records 5995 fresh cases

Chennai saw a surge in the number of positive cases on Friday. With a total of 1,282 cases, the city’s overall cases reached 1,22,757. Of the 101 fatalities, 23 persons died in Chennai.

Neighboring districts of Chennai including Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram and Thiruvallur reported 1,019 cases while northern districts of the state logged 960 cases. Among the western districts which contributed 1172 cases, Coimbatore (395) reported maximum cases.

In the last 24 hours, 74,344 samples have been tested. This took the total number of samples tested in the state to 40,62,943. There are 139 testing facilities in the state.

Till date, a total of 6,42,972 have entered Tamil Nadu through various modes of travel and 6,068 of them have tested positive.

SPB stable, on ventilator: Hospital

Singer-actor SP Balasubrahmanyam, who is currently receiving treatment for coronavirus, is stable, but continues to be on ventilator, Chennai’s MGM Healthcare said in a statement on Friday.

The statement reads, “Thiru S P Balasubrahmanyam who had been admitted at MGM Healthcare due to COVID-19 continues to be on Ventilator and ECMO support in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). His condition currently is stable. Our multi-disciplinary team of medical experts is keeping a very close watch on the vital parameters and has been constantly updating Thiru S P Balasubrahmanyam’s family regarding his clinical status and progress.”

READ | SP Balasubrahmanyam’s condition is stable, continues to be on ventilator

SPB’s son SP Charan also shared a video about his father’s health. In the video, Charan said, “The hospital has mentioned the word ‘stable’ today. He was listed by the doctor and the medical team as critical until yesterday. Today’s press release from the hospital says he is stable. They did not use the word ‘critical’. But that doesn’t mean he is completely recovered. What it means is there are no complications, all his vitals are working just fine.”

Tiruppur exporters welcome ESIC’s decision on wages

Tiruppur Exporters Association (TEA) on Friday thanked the Centre for the ESIC (Employees State Insurance Corporation) decision to pay 50 per cent of the average wages of the employees for a maximum of 90 days of unemployment due to the pandemic.

The decision would be helpful to the workers as it can also help in overcoming their difficulties during the period of unemployment, TEA president Raja M Shanmugham said in a press release.

In the first four months of this financial year, knitwear exports from Tirupur clocked Rs 4,325 crore and TEA was hopeful of an improvement in the exports in the coming months, the release quoted Shanmugham as saying. Once the situation improves, units would resume providing jobs to the workers from other districts of Tamil Nadu and also migrant workers from northern states, he said.

490 fever clinics conducted in Chennai

A total of 490 fever clinics were conducted in Chennai on Friday. A total of 21,686 people visited the camps with swabs collected from 1278 individuals. 1287 people with ILI symptoms were identified and tested for COVID-19, while medicines were provided for those with minor illnesses.

Thiru.Vi.Ka Nagar (Zone 6) had the most camps with 53 camps conducted, while Manali (Zone 2) had the least eight camps.

490 Fever clinics were conducted in Chennai today. 21,686 people attended the clinics and 1,287 symptomatic patients were identified & tested for COVID-19 and others given medicines for minor ailments.#Covid19Chennai#GCC #Chennai#chennaicorporation pic.twitter.com/ukR79pDsg0

— Greater Chennai Corporation (@chennaicorp) August 21, 2020

Recoveries cross 12,000 in two zones in Chennai

Recoveries have crossed 12,000 in two of the 15 zones in Chennai. Kodambakkam (Zone 10) has the most recoveries with 12,362 recoveries recorded in the zone by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC). Anna Nagar (Zone 8) is second with 12,230 recoveries.

Here is the zonal-wise break-up of active cases in Chennai as of 9 am on Friday:

• Thiruvottiyur (Zone 1) – 3772
• Manali (Zone 2) – 1798
• Madhavaram (Zone 3) – 3625
• Tondiarpet (Zone 4) – 9836
• Royapuram (Zone 5) – 11,590
• Thiru.Vi.Ka Nagar (Zone 6) – 8407
• Ambattur (Zone 7) – 6925
• Anna Nagar (Zone 8) – 12,230
• Teynampet (Zone 9) – 11,122
• Kodambakkam (Zone 10) – 12,362
• Valasaravakkam (Zone 11) – 6178
• Alandur (Zone 12) – 3619
• Adyar (Zone 13) – 7770
• Perungudi (Zone 14) – 3273
• Sholinganallur (Zone 15) – 2724