Tamil Nadu records 5,967 new COVID-19 cases with 97 deaths; total cases reach 3,85,352

New Delhi: Tamil Nadu on Monday (August 24) reported 5,967 new COVID-19 cases, taking total cases to 3,85,352 including 3,25,456 discharges and 6,614 deaths. The number of active cases in the state stands at 53,282, while the death toll reached 6,614 with 97 fatalities, according to the state Health Department.

As many as 70,023 samples were tested today and in total 42,76,640 specimens have been examined, said the health department bulletin.

Of the new cases, Chennai accounted for 1,278 and nearby districts of Chengelpet (306), Kancheepuram (226) and Tiruvallur (320) together logged 852 cases while the remainder was scattered across the state.

Those dead include 92 with comorbidities and five had no chronic illnesses. Three women, aged 90, 27, and 23, besides a 35-year-old man, were among the latest victims.

With the fresh infections, the state's infection count touched 3,85,352 and might cross the four lakh mark in a few days from now considering over 5,000 new infections daily in recent times.

Earlier on July 25, Tamil Nadu crossed the two lakh mark (2,06,737 cases including 6,988 reported on that day) after aggregating one lakh cases on July 3.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 tally in the country breached 31-lakh mark, with a single-day spike of 61,408 COVID-19 cases today. The recoveries, however, surged to 23,38,035, pushing the recovery rate to over 75 percent, according to the Union Health Ministry data.

India's COVID-19 caseload mounted to 31,06,348, while the death toll climbed to 57,542 with 836 fatalities being reported in a span of 24-hours, the data updated at 8 am showed.

According to the ICMR, a cumulative total of 3,59,02,137 samples have been tested up to August 23 with 6,09,917 samples being tested on Sunday.

Of the 836 fresh deaths, 258 are from Maharashtra, 97 from Tamil Nadu, 93 from Andhra Pradesh, 68 from Karnataka, 59 from Uttar Pradesh, 57 from West Bengal, 50 from Punjab, 23 from Madhya Pradesh, 16 from Delhi, 14 from Gujarat, 11 from Rajasthan and 10 from Odisha.

Nine fatalities have been reported from Jammu and Kashmir, eight each from Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Puducherry, six each from Haryana and Telangana, five each from Kerala and Uttarakhand, four each from Chandigarh, Jharkhand, and Goa, two from Ladakh, while Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Meghalaya and Tripura have registered one fatality each.

Of the total 57,542 deaths, Maharashtra has reported the maximum at 22,253 followed by 6,517 in Tamil Nadu, 4,683 in Karnataka, 4,300 in Delhi, 3,282 in Andhra Pradesh, 2,895 in Gujarat, 2,926 in Uttar Pradesh, 2,794 in West Bengal and 1,229 in Madhya Pradesh.

Notably, the health ministry has stressed that more than 70 percent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.