TPR touches new high of 15.5% as Tamil Nadu adds 27k Covid cases – Times of India

CHENNAI: At least15 out of every100 people undergoing Covid-19 tests were found to be infected, state health department said on Saturday when TN added 27,397 new cases.
The 241 deaths – highest so far – the state reported on Saturday pushed the toll tally beyond 15,000 and the cumulative case tally breached 13 lakh. Since March 2020, the state has reported 13.51 lakh cases and 15,412 deaths.
Positivity rate, which was below 8% in the second week of April, increased to 12.7% last week and is now more than 15%, according to data from the directorate of public health.
Nasal and throat swabs were drawn from 1.48 lakh for RTPCR tests on Saturday and the sampels were sent to 241 labs in the state. All 37 districts in the state reported more than 100 cases each, hotspot Chennai, which has a positivity rate of nearly 22%, reported 6,846 new cases and 72 deaths. After Chennai, Chengalpet (2,458) and Coimbatore (2,117) reported the highest number of new cases. Tuticorin, which has the highest positivity rate (22.7%) in the state, reported 853 new cases. Tirunelveli (21%) reported 674 new cases on Saturday.
While it took nearly 112 days for TN to add one lakh cases from 9 lakh cases it reported until December 2020, the state added another one lakh cases in less than a fortnight on April 19. Eight days later, the case tally moved to11 lakh. Five days ago, there were 12 lakh cases and on Saturday, it crossed13 lakh cases. “The infection is growing too fast, overwhelming the health care system,” said health secretary J Radhakrishnan. “With increase in cases there has been a steep increase in deaths,” he said. “People must stay indoors. If they must come out, they should wear a mask, preferably a double mask and maintain physical distance,” he said.
The state which reported 12,000 deaths on December 22 took 115 days to add another thousand deaths. But in the next 21 days, the cumulative toll tally has crossed 15,000. On Saturday, 31 districts reported deaths. After Chennai, Tiruvallur reported 17 deaths followed by 14 deaths in Kancheepuram and 12 deaths in Trichy. While Tirupattur reported 11 deaths, Chengalpet and Salem reported 10 deaths each. At the end of day, almost all beds in hospitals in high incidence districts such as Chennai, Coimbatore and Chengalpet were occupied.