'COVID-19 cases surge in Chennai due to dense population': Tamil Nadu CM Palaniswami

As COVID-19 cases in Chennai grew immensely over the last couple of days, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami said on Tuesday that more cases are being reported in the capital city because of its dense population.

"COVID-19 cases are more in Chennai as the city is densely populated. In all containment zones, sanitisation is being done three times a day," Chief Minister Palaniswami told the media.

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COVID cases mount in Tamil Nadu

The number of coronavirus cases in Tamil Nadu continued its upward trend on Tuesday, hitting 4,058 with more than 500 new cases for the second consecutive day as Chief Minister K Palaniswami attributed the rise to testing a higher number of samples.

Of the total cases reported so far in Tamil Nadu, approximately 950 are linked to Chennai's Koyambedu hotspot, authorities said and those who tested positive today too were contacts. Two deaths were reported on Tuesday, taking the toll from the deadly virus in the state to 33, a Health Department bulletin said. With 508 new patients on Tuesday, the cumulative tally stood at 4,058 and the active cases at 2,537, it said.

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So far, 1,74,828 samples have been taken for testing. COVID-19 tests were being done in 36 government and 16 private labs all over the state, it said. With the number of cases showing a steady increase, the government asked the general public to adhere to health and travel advisories issued by it. The Tamil Nadu government also rescinded the nod it had accorded for domestic workers to resume work in view of increasing cases.

A total of 195 people died of coronavirus in India on Tuesday, taking the death toll to 1,568, as per the latest data updated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

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(With inputs from agencies)

(Image: PTI)