Tamil Nadu reports 66 new cases, 1 death; tally mounts to 1,821

A total of 66 persons have tested positive for coronavirus in Tamil Nadu, taking the total number of cases in the state to 1,821, Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar said on Saturday.

One patient succumbed to the dreaded virus on Saturday, taking the state's death toll to 23.

Addressing mediapersons here, Vijayabaskar said that 66 persons have tested positive for coronavirus while 94 persons have been cured and discharged from the hospitals.

"There are six doctors and one nurse in the list of persons who have been discharged on Saturday. They have also agreed to donate their blood plasma for the treatment of other Covid-19 patients," Vijayabaskar said.

He said the total number of persons who have been discharged so far stood at 960 and no relapse has been reported so far.

Vijayabaskar also said that two official teams -- one technical and one disaster management -- from the Central government are in Tamil Nadu at the moment.

He said the teams appreciated the hospital management and Covid-19 containment zone plans of the state.

According to J. Radhakrishnan, Principal Secretary/Commissioner of Revenue Administration and State Relief Commissioner, the presentations were made to the Central team on the various steps taken by the state in the fight against coronavirus.

He said the team met the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police, among other officials.

Queried about the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in Chennai, Vijayabaskar said that Greater Chennai has about 1.5 crore population. The city is big and densely populated and hence the spread will be faster, he said.

He said the state has beefed up its sample testing capacity to about 7,700 samples per day and plans are there to increase it to 10,000 per day.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister K. Palaniswami on Saturday announced the reappointment of doctors, nurses and lab technicians retiring on April 30 for two more months. He said the appointment orders for 1,323 nurses are being issued.

Palaniswami also announced the payment of Rs 1,000 as relief to about 21,770 workers working in match manufacturing units registered under the Employees State Insurance (ESI).