CHENNAI: Fresh Covid-19 cases in Tamil Nadu dropped below the 10,000 mark on Friday after nearly 28 days, when the state added 9,916 new cases to the Covid registry. The state reported 30 deaths and discharged 21,435 people, and by the end of the day, there were 1.5 lakh people under treatment for the viral infection.
On January 7, when the third wave was peaking, the state reported 8,981 new cases and 10,978 the following day. By January 21, the state reported 30,744 new cases - the highest in the third wave. Since then, cases have been falling. "And it is falling at the same speed at which it rose," said health secretary J Radhakrishnan. For instance, from January 7, it took two weeks for cases to touch the peak, and it has taken the same number of days for cases to fall below 10,000, he said.
While cases are making a drastic fall, deaths continue to remain high. "Nearly 20% of people carry the Delta variant. The unvaccinated people and elderly with comorbid conditions continue to have complications, requiring oxygen therapy and ICU admissions," said Dr Narayanaswamy, who heads the government covid hospital in Guindy.
Meanwhile, Chennai reported 1475 new cases, followed by 1224 in Coimbatore. All other districts reported fewer than 1,000 cases each.
