Continuing the rise in new Covid-19 cases, Tamil Nadu on Saturday, January 22, breached the grim 30,000-mark by adding 30,744 infections to 31,03,410 till date, according to the Health Department. A total of 33 people succumbed to the virus and took the death toll to 37,178 so far, a bulletin said.

Recoveries aggregated to 28,71,535 with 23,372 more people getting discharged in the last 24 hours leaving 1,94,697 active cases. The last time when the state saw its daily infections crossing 30,000 was on May 13, 2021.

Chennai accounted for the majority of new coronavirus infections with 6,452 followed by Coimbatore 3,886, Chengalpet 2,377, Kanyakumari 1,266, Salem 1,080, Tiruvallur 1,069, Erode 1,066, Tiruppur 1,014 while the remaining was spread across other districts. A total of 1,55,648 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. This pushed the cumulative number of specimens examined to 6,04,45,762, the bulletin said.

Those who tested positive today included 26 returnees from other places across the country, said the bulletin.

The number of fatalities caused due to COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu was 'less' as compared to other states because 65% of the population has two doses of vaccination, Tamil Nadu Minister Ma Subramanian said earlier in the day. Deaths due to COVID-19 occurred because the individual did not receive a single dose of vaccination and was above the age of 60 years with comorbidity, he added.

Underlining the need to get inoculated to safeguard oneself from the virus, Subramanian said 89% of the people have received their first dose of vaccination while 65% got the second dose till now.

"Though it is satisfying to note that mortality rate (due to COVID-19) in Tamil Nadu has been low, it is unfortunate that those who succumb to the virus have not received even a single dose of vaccination. People should get inoculated to protect themselves from the virus", he told reporters.