Tamil Nadu Covid-19 wrap: Chief secy urges collectors to ascertain reason for spike in cases, reduce deaths

Taking note of the increase in cases in the districts that have suddenly emerged as hot spots, Shanmugam said, “The Collectors should find out the reason behind the increase in the number of coronavirus cases and also take necessary action to reduce the number of deaths.”

Reviewing the steps being taken to contain the virus and also the treatment protocols in place, through video conference from the Secretariat in Chennai, Shanmugam asked the Collectors to make sure that there are proper facilities in hospitals.

Shanmugam’s review with the Collectors of Coimbatore, Chengalpattu, Thanjavur, Cuddalore, Tiruppur, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Erode, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram, Vellore, Namakkal, Dharmapuri, Tiruvarur and Salem comes ahead of Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami’s meeting with bureaucrats and medical professionals slated next week to review the prevailing COVID-19 condition.

During the review, Shanmugam recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s interaction with Palaniswami on Thursday during which he appreciated Tamil Nadu’s efforts in controlling the coronavirus.

24-gun salute for SPB as singer laid to rest at Thamaraipakkam

Versatile singer, actor and music composer S P Balasubrahmanyam hailed as “singing moon” and “music cloud” by his millions of fans was laid to rest at his farm house near Chennai on Saturday with a 24-gun salute by Tamil Nadu police.

READ | SP Balasubrahmanyam buried at his farmhouse with state honours

After the singer’s son S P Charan performed the funeral rites amid Vedic chants by priests, 24 police personnel gave a gun salute and later the body was lowered into a deep pit and buried.

With policemen marching along, the body was brought on a bier to the designated burial spot from an enclosure earmarked for people to pay homage and perform rituals. The farm house at Tamaraipakkam in nearby Tiruvallur district teemed with his fans, well-wishers and celebrities for the funeral and about 500 police personnel were deployed to regulate crowd.

COVID-19 tally crosses 13,000 in two zones in Chennai

COVID-19 cases in Chennai have crossed 18,000 in two of the city’s 15 zones. According to data released by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), Kodambakkam (Zone 10) leads the tally with 18,116 cases followed by Anna Nagar (Zone 8) with 18,050 cases.

Here is the Zonal-wise break-up of cases in Chennai as of 9 am on Saturday:

• Thiruvottiyur (Zone 1) – 4971
• Manali (Zone 2) – 2486
• Madhavaram (Zone 3) – 5735
• Tondiarpet (Zone 4) – 13,177
• Royapuram (Zone 5) – 15,387
• Thiru.Vi.Ka Nagar (Zone 6) – 12,329
• Ambattur (Zone 7) – 11,358
• Anna Nagar (Zone 8) – 18,050
• Teynampet (Zone 9) – 15,365
• Kodambakkam (Zone 10) – 18,116
• Valasaravakkam (Zone 11) – 10,461
• Alandur (Zone 12) – 6419
• Adyar (Zone 13) – 12,464
• Perungudi (Zone 14) – 5616
• Sholinganallur (Zone 15) – 4554

State tally crosses crosses 5.7 lakh with 5647 fresh cases

Tamil Nadu recorded 5,647 positive cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the state tally to 5,75,017. Among these, Chennai reported 1,187 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 1,62,125.

Tamil Nadu recorded 85 deaths on Saturday, putting the state toll at 9,233. 75 of them had succumbed due to comorbidities.

As of Saturday, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu is 46,336. Till date, 3,46,918 males, 2,28,069 females and 30 transgenders have tested positive for the virus in the state.

According to a bulletin released by the Health and Family Welfare Department of Tamil Nadu, 70,04,558 samples from the state have been sent for testing till date, with 94,037 samples having been sent today.

The state discharged 5,612 patients following treatment today, putting the total number of recoveries at 5,19,448.

Besides Chennai, 259 cases were reported in Chengalpattu, 148 in Kancheepuram, 235 in Thiruvallur, 32 in Ariyalur, 656 in Coimbatore, 212 in Cuddalore, 95 in Dharmapuri, 56 in Dindigul, 140 in Erode, 37 in Kallakurichi, 96 in Kanyakumari, 71 in Karur, 70 in Krishnagiri, 81 in Madurai, 45 in Nagapattinam, 134 in Namakkal, 145 in Nilgiris, 25 in Perambalur, 88 in Pudukottai, 21 in Ramanathapuram, 73 in Ranipet, 296 in Salem, 28 in Sivagangai, 66 in Tenkasi, 179 in Thanjavur, 67 each in Theni 81 in and Thirupathur, 136 in Thiruvannamalai, 141 in Thiruvarur, 49 in Thoothukudi, 90 in Tirunelveli, 188 in Tiruppur, 96 in Trichy, 138 in Vellore, 161 in Villupuram and 38 in Virudhunagar districts.

(With inputs from PTI)