Covid-19 | State records slight dip with 1,969 cases

As many as 1,969 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu on Saturday, registering a small dip from the previous day’s count of 1,985. With this, the State’s tally touched 25,73,352.

Of the 38 districts, five reported over 100 fresh cases each. Four of the remaining districts — Dindigul, Pudukottai, Ramanathapuram and Tenkasi — clocked in cases in single digits.

Ramanathapuram had the least number of infections at two.

As many as 223 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Coimbatore. In Erode, the daily count rose to 198, from 178 on Friday. Chennai followed with 194 cases. There were 115 infections in Chengalpattu. Thanjavur yet again recorded a little over 100 cases — 110 people tested positive here.

While cases dipped to 84 in Tiruppur, Salem saw a small surge from 70 to 91 cases. Ninety-three people tested positive in Tiruvallur.

Another 1,839 people were discharged after treatment, taking the total figure to 25,18,777. The State’s active caseload stood at 20,286. These included 2,180 cases in Coimbatore and 1,959 in Chennai.

State’s toll

Another 29 people succumbed to the infection, taking the toll to 34,289. There were five deaths in Salem and three in Tiruppur. Two people died in Chennai. Twenty districts recorded no fatalities due to COVID-19.

Among the deceased was a 40-year-old man from Salem who had no co-morbidities. He was admitted to the Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College Hospital on July 31, and died on August 5 due to COVID-19 pneumonia.

In the last 24 hours, 1,65,325 samples were tested, taking the total figure to 3,85,36,958.

Vacant beds

As of date, 70,694 beds are vacant in COVID-19 hospitals and health centres in the State. These include 39,090 oxygen-supported beds, 24,155 non-oxygen ones and 7,449 intensive care unit (ICU) beds.

Of these, Chennai has 12,969 vacant beds — 8,016 oxygen-supported beds, 3,303 non-oxygen ones and 1,650 ICU beds. As many as 42,527 oxygen beds, 26,661 non-oxygen ones and 8,765 ICU beds in these facilities are earmarked for COVID-19 patients.

A total of 53,573 beds are available in COVID-19 care centres.

As many as 2,86,097 people, including 1,74,752 in the 18-44 age group and 83,766 in the 45-59 age group, were vaccinated, taking the total coverage to 2,31,17,582.