A health worker administers a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to a person at a drive-in vaccination centre, at MGM Hospital, in Chennai. (PTI)Tamil Nadu Chennai News 28, 29 Highlights: Tamil Nadu recorded 1,859 positive cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, bringing the state tally to 25,55,664. Among these, Chennai reported 181 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 5,37,732. The state recorded 28 deaths on Thursday, putting the state toll at 34,023. A total of 2,145 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 25,00,434.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin issued an order on Thursday withdrawing 90 defamation cases filed against Journalists and Media organizations from 2012 – 2021(until February) by the previous AIADMK government. In a statement, Stalin the order was passed as part of the poll promise he made before the 2021 assembly election.
Urgent action should be taken to remove capping of Central share of premium subsidy under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.
The Fasal Bima Yojana is successfully implemented and Tamil Nadu has witnessed a huge growth in terms of area insured and farmers’ enrolment due to sincere efforts and best practices adopted by the state, Stalin said in a letter to Modi.
Tamil Nadu recorded 1,859 positive cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, bringing the state tally to 25,55,664. Among these, Chennai reported 181 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 5,37,732. The state recorded 28 deaths on Thursday, putting the state toll at 34,023. A total of 2,145 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 25,00,434.
Former IAS officer Sasikanth Senthil, who has now been appointed as the coordinator for the social media wing and other frontline teams of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC), said that he wants to strengthen the party at the ground level ahead of the upcoming local body elections.
In 2019, Senthil quit as an IAS officer alleging that ‘fundamental building blocks of democracy are being compromised’. He tweeted back then that he had decided to leave the civil service in search of a method to stem the totalitarian attack on the country he “dearly loves”. Sasikanth was formally inducted into TNCC in November 2020.
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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin issued an order on Thursday withdrawing 90 defamation cases filed against Journalists and Media organizations from 2012 - 2021(until February) by the previous AIADMK government. In a statement, Stalin the order was passed as part of the poll promise he made before the 2021 assembly election.
Urgent action should be taken to remove capping of Central share of premium subsidy under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.
The Fasal Bima Yojana is successfully implemented and Tamil Nadu has witnessed a huge growth in terms of area insured and farmers’ enrolment due to sincere efforts and best practices adopted by the state, Stalin said in a letter to Modi.
However, the state’s share of premium subsidy has increased at a compound annual growth rate of 28.07 per cent in the last five years.
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Filmmaker Vignesh Shivan on Thursday unveiled the trailer of his latest production venture Netrikann, which stars his girlfriend Nayanthara in the lead role. Written and directed by Milind Rau of Aval fame, the thriller has a vibe similar to the Hollywood hit ‘Don’t Breathe.’ A blind person with uncanny skills makes the trespassers pay for their grave miscalculations.
Judging by the trailer, Nayanthara, who is blind, is a witness in a case that has become a nightmare for the police department. A killer is on the prowl and is targeting young women in Chennai city. He crosses paths with Nayanthara’s character and underestimates her ability to defend herself due to her visual impairment. Well, as Daredevil (in Marvel’s The Defenders) puts it, the gift of “sight is overrated.”
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A total of 30,75,292 people have been vaccinated in Chennai till date, with 23,652 people inoculated on Wednesday alone, according to the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).
Petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged across the country for the 12th consecutive day on Thursday, July 29, 2021. Petrol had touched fresh record highs on July 17, when it rose by 30 paise per litre in the national capital, while diesel prices were kept unchanged.
In Chennai, petrol is priced at Rs. 102.49 per litre while diesel costs Rs. 94.39 per litre.
The Madras High Court on Wednesday did not stay the operation of a government order providing 10.5 per cent internal reservation exclusively for Vanniyars in the state.
Instead, the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy adjourned to August second week, further hearing on the batch of PIL petitions challenging the government order.
The adjournment followed a submission from Advocate-General R Shanmugasundaram that similar petitions challenging the reservation policy of the state government were pending before the Supreme Court and they are likely to come up for hearing in the first week of next month.
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100-year-old CPM leader N Sankaraiah, who is slated to received the ‘Thagaisal Thamizhar’ award that was instituted by the MK Stalin-led DMK government to honour personalities for their eminent contribution to the betterment of Tamil Nadu and the Tamils, has said that he will donate the cash prize to the Chief Minister’s Covid-19 relief Fund.
In a statement, Stalin had said that the decision to honour Sankaraiah was taken at a meeting chaired by him where the minister for Industries, Tamil official language, Tamil culture and archaeology Thangam Thennarasu and Chief Secretary V Irai Anbu were also present. Stalin said the committee chose the centenarian who entered public life at a very young age, became a student leader, and then participated in the country’s freedom struggle and served the people as member of the legislative assembly.
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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin Wednesday launched several projects at the Kolathur constituency, which he represents. Stalin inaugarated smart classrooms at the Chennai Middle School in Gopalapuram, and also launched centres for Integrated Child Development Scheme, distributing books to children, according to The Hindu.
Post Graduate degree obtained in the Open University System without a basic Under Graduate degree cannot be considered either for appointment or promotion, the Madras High Court has ruled.
A division bench of Justices Pushpa Sathyanarayana and Krishnan Ramasamy gave the ruling on Tuesday while allowing a writ appeal from the Inspector General of Registration and the secretary of Commercial Taxes & Registration department challenging a February 2020 order of a single judge.
The issue relates to the educational qualification for the purpose of promotion as Sub Registrar Grade I from Sub Registrar Grade-II.
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A total of 81,790 posters have been removed across Chennai till Wednesday as a part of the Greater Chennai Corporation's (GCC) poster removal campaign.
Here are the details:
North Chennai - 19,509
Central Chennai - 23,677
South Chennai - 38,604
Four districts in Tamil Nadu would witness the rollout of the free vaccination drive in private hospitals by utilising the CSR funds of companies under the first phase, trade body Confederation of Indian Industry said on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, CII partnered with the Tamil Nadu government to launch a free vaccination drive in the state supported by CII members through the corporate social responsibility funds.
The free vaccination rollout in private hospitals was formally launched by Chief Minister M K Stalin at the Kauvery Hospital in Chennai. "This is the first of its kind initiative in the country and we are happy to see that many industries in the state have come forward to support this cause which would go a long way in inoculating the people of the state, especially in the rural areas," CII Tamil Nadu Chairman S Chandrakumar said in a press release.
"In the first phase, the free vaccination drive will be held in Chennai, Kancheepuram, Cuddalore and Erode districts with the support of CII members in their respective locations," CII said.
CII has contributed Rs 2.20 crore for the initiative which was supported by CII members, truck major Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, Saint-Gobain, ZF Wabco, CavinKare and Danfoss Industries. CII members have supported the state government in relief and rehabilitation activities including augmenting critical medical infrastructure like medical oxygen and oxygen concentrators, CII TN vice chairman Satyakam Arya said
in the release. (PTI)
Veteran actor Kamal Haasan on Wednesday said he had submitted before a Parliamentary panel in detail, the “dangerous aspects” of the Draft Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which “strangles the voice of freedom of expression.”
The actor, also founder of Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) political party, had appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology chaired by senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday.
He also wanted the Centre to immediately withdraw the draft bill.
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AIADMK Coordinator O Panneerselvam on Wednesday asserted his party will remain intact under the present set up of dual leadership and that none can capture it.
The AIADMK, he said, has since the last four-and-a-half years demonstrated it can run its affairs under the dual leadership of coordinator and joint coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami and no individual or a person from a family can capture or gain control of the party.
“An individual or a person from a particular family can never capture the AIADMK, which has democratically elected me and Palaniswami as coordinator and joint coordinator to guide the party.”
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The Madras High Court has directed the Commercial Taxes department to issue suitable orders to all subordinate authorities to identify the cases where no actions are taken or taken belatedly after efflux of time regarding collection of tax or arrears of tax.
Issuing the directions to the Secretary, Commercial Taxes and Registration and the Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, the court also asked them to initiate appropriate action against all who are responsible and accountable for such lapses, negligence or dereliction of duty.
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Tamil Nadu Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister M R K Panneerselvam on Wednesday inspected research activities, technologies and improved crop varieties developed by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) in Coimbatore.
During the visit, the Minister declared open the vermicompost unit, pellatization of forage crops for production of nutritive fodder pellets for enhancing livestock productivity. He inspected the ultra high density mango-planting and witnessed the demonstration of drone technology in agriculture for spraying pesticide and nutrients at TNAU orchard.
The Minister visited the arid fruit zone orchard and also the renovated botanical garden at the university. He was accompanied by the Vice-Chancellor of TNAU Dr N Kumar who gave a briefing on various activities of the university, an official press release said.
Research studies were conducted at the university utilising the capabilities of drone (unmanned aerial vehicle) technology in detecting health status of crops using sensors and delivering inputs as foliar spray in accordance with site-specific prescription with minimal labour requirement.
The digital technology of drone applications would revitalise agriculture besides attracting/retaining youth in farming to foster rural livelihood, the release said. (PTI)
The Madras High Court on Wednesday set aside an assessment order passed by the Income Tax Department against Karti, son of former Union Minister P Chidambaram and Lok Sabha member from Sivaganga constituency, and his wife Srinidhi.
The charge against Karti and Srinidhi was they had failed to disclose an income of Rs 6.38 crore during 2014-15.
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President Ram Nath Kovind will reach Tamil Nadu for a five-day visit starting August 2 and participate in several events in Chennai and Ooty, officials said on Wednesday.
In his maiden visit to New Delhi after taking charge as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M K Stalin had invited Kovind to attend the commemoration of the 100th year of the Madras Legislative Council and unveil the portrait of former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi at the assembly hall.
According to the schedule, Kovind will reach Chennai airport on August 2 at 12:45pm and after a brief reception, he will head to Raj Bhavan for lunch. At 5pm, he will participate in the centenary celebrations of the legislative assembly, formerly known as the Madras Legislative Council, and later, unveil the portrait M Karunanidhi at the assembly hall.
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Tangedco has announced a power cut in parts of Chennai today from 9 am to 5 pm today for maintenance work.Here are the affected areas:
Kovoor: Kovoor, Periyapanicheri, Baraniputur, Thandalam, Manancheri, South Malayambakkam, Babu Garden, Akash Nagar, Manikandan Nagar, Metha Nagar, Ondi Colony and Parts of Kundrathur
IT Corridor: Entire Sai nagar 1st to 13th Cross Street, Sainagar 1st, 2nd and 3rd Main Road, Selvaganapathy Avenue, Selvakumar Avenue, Arumugam Avenue, Bethel Nagar, Saravana Nagar 3rd and 4th Street, Corporation Road Partial Area, New Kumaran Nagar, Gandhi Street and School Road
Velachery West: Kamarajapuram, Ganapathi Nagar, Radha Mohan Street, Gandhi Kumaran Street and Kannaki StreetAdyar: 8th and 9th Cross Street of Dhandeeswaram and Dhandeeswaram 3rd Main Road
Mylapore: Thirumurthy Nagar Main Road and Thirumurthy Nagar 2nd Street and 4th Street
Manali: Parthasarathy Street, Avarai Kollimedu, Cheyalam Street, Periyasekkadu, Perumal Koil Street and Pachaiyappan Garden
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Tamil Nadu recorded 1756 positive cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday, bringing the state tally to 25,53,805. Among these, Chennai reported 164 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 5,37,546. The state recorded 29 deaths on Wednesday, putting the state toll at 33,995. 25 of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. A total of 2394 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 24,98,289.
As of Wednesday, the number of active Covid-19 cases in Tamil Nadu is 22,521. Till date, 14,92,089 males, 10,61,678 females and 38 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, 3,69,71,334 samples from the state have been tested till date, with 1,55,997 samples having been sent yesterday. There are 279 Covid-19 testing facilities in the state, out of which 69 are government and 210 are private facilities.
Vanakkam Chennai!
Welcome to today’s live blog. We bring to you the latest news on Covid-19, politics, features, entertainment, sports, art and culture from across Chennai and Tamil Nadu. Follow our live blog and @ie_chennai to stay up to date with what’s happening in the state.
Tamil Nadu recorded 1,756 positive cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday, bringing the state tally to 25,53,805. Among these, Chennai reported 164 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 5,37,546. The state recorded 29 deaths on Wednesday, putting the state toll at 33,995. 25 of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. A total of 2,394 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 24,98,289.
Actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam leader Kamal Haasan today said that his party is preparing to face the local body elections in nine districts which is tentatively scheduled to take place before September 2021. Makkal Needhi Maiam which performed poorly at the recently concluded assembly elections with Haasan himself losing Coimbatore (South) to BJP's Vanathi Srinivasan, is aiming to put a better show in the upcoming polls with the revamped party structure.
The Tamil Nadu police Wednesday arrested two more people in connection with the financial fraud case filed against MR Ganesh and MR Swaminathan, popularly known as the ‘Helicopter Brothers’ of Kumbakonam district. The brothers — accused of cheating people to the tune of Rs 600 crore — are absconding.
Those arrested on Wednesday are Akhila, wife of MR Ganesh, and Venkatesan, a manager in their financial company. Before this, on July 25, one Meera and her brother Sriram, who worked as accountants in the company, were arrested. The special team under DSP Ashokan apprehended them when they were about to flee the town, officers said.
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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin Wednesday launched a scheme to provide free Covid-19 vaccination doses at private hospitals in the state. The scheme, launched from Chennai’s Kauvery Hospital and claimed to be the first-of-its-kind in India, will be funded under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
On behalf of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), a cheque of Rupees two crore and twenty lakh was handed over to Stalin Wednesday.
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A total of 30,51,640 people have been vaccinated in Chennai till date, with 27,368 people inoculated on Tuesday alone, according to the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).
Petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged across the country for the 11th successive day on Wednesday, July 28, 2021. Petrol had touched fresh record highs on July 17, when it rose by 30 paise per litre in the national capital, while diesel prices were kept unchanged.
In Chennai, petrol is priced at Rs. 102.49 per litre while diesel costs Rs. 94.39 per litre.
A total of 79,477 posters have been removed across Chennai till Tuesday as a part of the Greater Chennai Corporation's (GCC) poster removal campaign in the city.
Here are the details:
North Chennai - 18,862
Central Chennai - 22,356
South Chennai - 38,259
The first look poster of director Karthick Naren’s upcoming film, tentatively titled D43, was released on the occasion of actor Dhanush’s 38th birthday. The first look also reveals the title of the film as Maaran.
The poster features an angry-looking Dhanush taking on one of his rivals. “His courage is his weapon Proudly presenting the first look of #Maaran … Happy birthday (sic),” tweeted Karthick, while unveiling the poster.
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“When can I eat chocolates,”? is the question posed often by four year-old Isakkiyammal at a government-run children’s hospital here. While eating sweets should have been a very ordinary thing for a child of that age, it is not so for her. The little one and her parents have been enduring a nightmarish struggle for about four months now after she ingested by mistake what they believe is bleaching powder. Subsequently, it became pretty hard for her to even swallow her saliva, leave alone eat or drink anything
Isakkiyammal’s humble working class parents, hailing from Shencottah, a little town in south Tamil Nadu, say they knocked on the doors of a number of government hospitals before getting their child admitted here. The child is being treated in the ICU of the Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children at Egmore here, a renowned Tamil Nadu government run facility.
Recounting what happened months ago, Seetharaj and his wife Prema say they were away for work when they received a phone call from a neighbour that their child had taken ill after she ate bleaching powder. “We were terrified to see our child. Her lips got swollen, there was blood too and she started experiencing severe health problems from then on,” they told PTI.
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Two people were injured when the two-wheeler they were riding was knocked down by an SUV in a hit-and-run incident on the Salem-Coimbatore highway in Tamil Nadu. Visuals of the incident, captured on the dashcam of another car, went viral on social media.
The injured were identified as Ajith Kumar and Arun from Kannangurichi town in Salem district. First admitted to a local government hospital, they were referred to the Coimbatore Govt Hospital. While Arun, who rode the two-wheeler, suffered minor injuries, Ajith Kumar is on ventilator support in the ICU.
According to the police, the incident took place around 2:30 pm on July 25 near Magudanchavadi. The SUV, identified as Hyundai Creta, hit the two-wheeler and drove away without stopping. The dashcam of the car that followed captured the incident. The owner of that car, who was heading to Bengaluru, handed over the dashcam footage to a passerby, asking him to submit it at the local police station. The footage helped the police in identifying the occupants of the Creta.
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AIADMK’s top leaders O Panneerselvam and K Palaniswami on Tuesday called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah and handed over a memorandum of Tamil Nadu related issues.
Speaking to reporters in Delhi after visiting Shah, Palaniswami said, “it was a courtesy visit.”
Asked if there were discussions related to Tamil Nadu’s political scenario, he said, “no political discussions happened.”
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A division bench of the Madras High Court comprising Justices S Duraisamy and R Hemalatha Tuesday stayed the judgment of a single bench which had passed critical remarks against actor Vijay and imposed on him a fine of Rs one lakh for filing a petition seeking exemption from paying entry tax on his Rolls Royce Ghost car imported from England in 2012.
The high court had Thursday granted permission to the Tamil actor to challenge the order of the single bench and expunge its scathing remarks against him.
Senior advocate Vijay Narayan, who appeared on behalf of the actor Tuesday, said Vijay was ready to pay the tax amount and there was no justification for the adverse comments. He said similar cases were dismissed by the bench, but adverse comments were made only on the plea moved by the actor. He added that such remarks could hurt any human being.
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A total of 162 flights will be operated between Chennai and major cities today, with 81 arrivals and 81 departures scheduled at the Chennai International Airport.
AIADMK’s top leaders O Panneerselvam and K Palaniswami on Tuesday called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah and handed over a memorandum of Tamil Nadu related issues.
Speaking to reporters in Delhi after visiting Shah, Palaniswami said, “it was a courtesy visit.”
Asked if there were discussions related to Tamil Nadu’s political scenario, he said, “no political discussions happened.” (PTI)
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Quashing a criminal defamation proceedings initiated by the previous AIADMK government against the Tamil daily Dinamalar, a Madras High Hourt order, however, said the newspaper referring to the former Chief Minister late J Jayalalithaa as ‘J’ in a news article was disrespectful.
The criminal defamation was on a series of articles published by the newspaper criticising the then CM Jayalalithaa’s inaction in tackling the crisis after the Chennai floods in 2015.
While the court observed that the case against the newspaper for allegedly defaming the reputation of Jayalalithaa was not in any way touching upon the conduct of the aggrieved person in discharge of her public function, it said that referring to Jayalalithaa as ‘J’ was disrespectful.
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Tangedco has announced a power cut in parts of Chennai today from 9 am to 5 pm for maintenance work.
Here are the affected areas:
Velachery: T.A Koil 1st Street, 5th Street, Lakshipuram, Parts of Bypass Road and surrounding areas
Manali: MMDA Phases I & II, Elathanur, Nehru Nagar and Thanigai Nagar
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Tangedco has announced a power cut in parts of Chennai today from 9 am to 2 pm for maintenance work.
Here are the affected areas:
Sothuperumbedu: Kamarpalayam, Kumaran Nagar, Balamurugan Nagar, Parts of Sholavaram, GNT Road Sholavaram and Kavarakullam
KK Nagar: 10th Avenue, Alagirisamy Salai, Tholkapiyam, Choolaimedu High Road, Kanniyamman Koil, Rangarajapuram, Chitra Avenue, Nelson Manickam Road, Thangal Street, Iyyappa Nagar and surrounding areas
Guindy: Rajbhavan, Guindy, Moovarasampet, Madipakkam, Nandambakkam, Mugalivakkam, Ramapuram, St. Thomas Mount and surrounding areas
Tambaram: Ramaiah Main Road, Nookampalayam Main Road, Gokul Nagar, Gandhi Street, Velachery Main Road, Bharathidasan Street, Alagiri Street, Kannabiran and surrounding areas
Perumbakkam: Sithalapakkam, ADB Avenue, Vengaivasal Main Road, TNHB Colony, MGR Nagar, Jeya Nagar, Valluvar Nagar, Arasankalani Main Road, Sankarapuram and surrounding areas
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Tamil Nadu recorded 1767 positive cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday, bringing the state tally to 25,52,049. Among these, Chennai reported 139 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 5,37,386. The state recorded 29 deaths on Tuesday, putting the state toll at 33,966. 28 of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. A total of 2312 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 24,95,895.
As of Tuesday, the number of active Covid-19 cases in Tamil Nadu is 22,188. Till date, 14,91,084 males, 10,60,927 females and 38 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, 3,68,15,337 samples from the state have been tested till date, with 1,43,310 samples having been sent yesterday. There are 279 Covid-19 testing facilities in the state, out of which 69 are government and 210 are private facilities.
Vanakkam Chennai!
Welcome to today’s live blog. We bring to you the latest news on Covid-19, politics, features, entertainment, sports, art and culture from across Chennai and Tamil Nadu. Follow our live blog and @ie_chennai to stay up to date with what’s happening in the state.