NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, DEC 18
Tamil Nadu on Friday recorded 1,134 new cases of coronavirus and 12 related deaths, taking the overall tally to 8.04 lakh and total fatalities to 11,954.
Recoveries outnumbered new infections, with 1,170 being cured of the virus, according to a government bulletin.
With the new infections, the total number of positive cases stood at 8,04,650, while 7,82,915 people have been cured of the infection, it said.
The positivity rate in the state was below two per cent. As many as 75,347 samples were tested by RT-PCR today while over 1.33 crore specimens have been tested so far.
Among the new cases, Chennai recorded the highest of 341, followed by Coimbatore (115) and Chengalpattu at 69. The active cases stood at 9,781.
Perambalur saw no new cases on Friday, while 10 districts saw single-digit fresh infections.
All 12 deceased, including an octogenarian, suffered from different comorbidities, it said.
Meanwhile, Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said the positivity rate in the state dipped below two percent while Chennai was reporting less than 3.5 percent, but warned against lowering the guard.
“People should not remain lax,” he said, adding, even when the vaccine would be made available, inoculation will not be made across all sections of population instantly and the early preference would be for frontline health workers, police personnel and others on covid mitigation activities. Till then, the use of mask should be strictly followed, he told reporters here.
