CHENNAI: For the first time in 61 days, the number of daily Covid-19 deaths dropped below the 100-mark.
On Sunday, 91 people across Tamil Nadu died of the viral infection, taking the cumulative toll to 32,290.
The state reported 5,127 new cases with 21 districts reported fresh cases in two digits.
However, all seven districts in western TN reported 100 or more fresh infections.
Coimbatore topped the chart with 649 new cases.
Chennai (308 new cases) and its neighbouring districts continued to report a decline in daily cases.
But panic set in among residents in Chennai’s suburbs as 33 children of a private home in Uthiramerur tested positive.
Though they were all in stable condition, the Kancheepuram district administration plans to shift them to the local government hospital.
After one patient from the district recently tested positive for the Delta-plus variant, the Union health ministry asked local authorities to take up containment measures.
State health secretary J Radhakrishnan wrote to all districts to intensify containment measures, track people who were in contact with Delta variant cases, and increase vaccine coverage.
Finance minister P T R Palanivel Thiagarajan on Sunday told reporters that the government was planning to procure kits that can detect the Delta-plus variant.
At present, the state sends samples to a lab in Bengaluru.
A total of 89,402 people received the vaccine on Sunday.
The state has so far administered the vaccine to 1.41 crore people.
With daily recoveries (7,159) outpacing the infection rate once again, the number of active cases continued to decline.
As many as 42,801 patients are undergoing treatment at health centres and homes at the moment.
Consequently, bed vacancy at Covid health centres has increased to 1.38 lakh.
It was around 54,000 the same day last month.