Tamil Nadu recorded 26,465 new COVID-19 cases in the biggest single-day spike so far on Friday, pushing the caseload to 13,23,965, while a record 197 deaths in the last 24 hours took the toll to 15,171.
According to a bulletin, 22,381 people were discharged today, taking the tally to 11,73,439 and leaving 1,35,355 active infections.
Chennai accounted for 6,738 new infections, totaling 3,77,042 till date. It also leads in the total number of fatalities at 5,081.
The number of samples tested today was 1,52,812, pushing the cumulative number of specimens examined so far to 2,36,98,799.
Besides Chennai, Chengalpet added 2,154 cases, Coimbatore 2,101 Thiruvallur 1,384 and Madurai 1,051 while 30 districts clocked new infections in triple digits.
Cuddalore reported 462, Dharmapuri 243, Dindigul 323, Erode 639, Kallakurichi 202, Kancheepuram 857, Kanyakumari 435, Karur 265, Krishnagiri 500, Nagapattinam 365, Namakkal 357, Nilgiris 161, Pudukottai 164, Ramanathapuram 228, Ranipet 459 and Salem 648.
Sivaganga recorded 113, Tenkasi 322, Thanjavur 331, Theni 495, Thirupathur 272, Thiruvannamalai 415, Thiruvarur 331, Tuticorin 855, Tirunelveli 673, Tiruppur 552, Tiruchirappalli 784, Vellore 582, Villupuram 521 and Virudhunagar 273, the bulletin said.
Among the 197 deceased, 47 of them were without co-morbidities, which include a 17-year-old boy from Tirunelveli who succumbed to the virus due to acute respiratory failure.
As many as 20 people who tested positive today were returnees from various destinations.
A private lab in Erode district was recently accorded approval to hold COVID-19 testing, taking the overall laboratories operating in the State to 267, the bulletin said.
