Tamil Nadu recorded 600 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, of which 399 cases are from Chennai alone. The Health department further revealed that the Koyambedu market cluster alone has contributed to 1,589 of the total 6,009 cases in Tamil Nadu so far.
Three persons died due to COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu taking the total toll in the state to 40. The persons who died include a 78-year-old male with comorbidities from Tambaram in Chennai who was admitted on April 30 in Rajiv Gandhi Government General hospital. He died on May 7 at 9pm. The second person is a 56-year-old male from Chennai admitted on May 6 in RGGGH. He died on May 7 at 11.50 pm.
The third person is an 83-year-old male with comorbidities from Tirunelveli who was admitted on May 6 at the Tirunelveli medical college and hospital. He died on May 7 at 2.30 am.
As far as testing goes, on Friday alone, 13, 980 people were tested.
The total number of positive cases in Chennai now stands at 2644, with 2291 active cases and 23 deaths so far. The other new cases reported on Friday are from Cuddalore, Dharmapuri, Kancheepuram, Kanyakumari, Krishnagiri, Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Tenkasi, Theni, Thiruvallur, Thiruvannamalai, Tirunelveli, Trichy, Villupuram and Virudhunagar.
Of these Cuddalore (356), Ariyalur (246), Chengalpattu (158), Thiruvallur (195), Perambalur (72) and Kanchipuram(89) have seen a spike in cases as they have been affected by the Koyambedu market cluster.
On May 5, after the Koyambedu vegetable market emerged as a hotspot for hundreds of COVID-19 cases across Tamil Nadu, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) shut down the market temporarily. The flower and fruit markets had been shifted to the Madhavaram bus stand around a week ago to reduce congestion in the market.
The 'complete lockdown' imposed by the government from April 26 had led to increased crowds in the market, as people attempted to stock produce without heeding to physical distancing.