Tamil Nadu recorded 49 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, taking the total number of positive cases in the state to 1,372. Of the 49 new cases, 28 people, who tested positive in Tiruppur, are primary contacts of attendees of a single source event.
Speaking to reporters, state Health Minister Vijayabaskar said that 5,363 samples had been tested on the same day the rapid testing kits were introduced for testing patients in Salem. No deaths were recorded in the state over the last 24 hours even as 82 patients were discharged on Saturday. The state has taken 35,036 samples from 29,997 persons.
The Health Minister said that Tamil Nadu had more testing labs than anywhere in India. The mortality rate for the coronavirus in Tamil Nadu continues at 1.01%. The Minister added that it was a positive sign to see more numbers of patients getting discharged than the numbers testing positive for the virus.
Three new testing labs have been approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Tamil Nadu has a total of 31 labs, including 21 government and 10 private labs, the Minister informed.
When asked about the cost of rapid testing kits, Dr Umanath, Managing Director of the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation (TNMSC) said that the state government was placing orders with the same company as the central government. When pressed further for the exact price, he showed documents to reporters, revealing that the Tamil Nadu government purchased rapid kits at Rs 600 per kit.
Explaining the criteria for rapid testing in Tamil Nadu, the Health Minister revealed that people with influenza-like illnesses and people in containment zones would be tested. “We have improved the capacity of testing. 1,000 samples can be tested at a time using automated RNA extraction at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital and the Directorate of Public Health,” the Minister said.
As per the district wise split of cases reported on Saturday, Chennai has seven cases, 28 cases in Tiruppur, one case in Coimbatore, four cases in Tenkasi, three in Perambalur, three in Dindigul, two in Tirunelveli and one in Thanjavur. With this, Tiruppur district crossed the 100-patient mark. Currently, the district has 108 cases, making Tiruppur the district with the third-highest number of cases in Tamil Nadu.