The number of people testing positive for COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu crossed 15,000 on Tuesday. There were 15,379 fresh cases, and over 60% of them were reported in Chennai and its neighbouring districts of Chengalpattu, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram.

With the number of tests remaining more or less the same as it was on the previous day (1.35 lakh), the State’s overall positivity rate stood at 11.3%.

In Chennai, 6,484 people tested positive for the infection, as against 6,190 on Monday. With this, the total number of COVID-19 cases reported in the city crossed six lakh.

Marginal drop

There was a marginal drop in fresh cases in Chengalpattu, as 1,665 people tested positive as against 1,696 on the previous day. In Tiruvallur, cases declined from 1,054 to 893, while Kancheepuram logged 580 cases.

There was a spike in fresh cases in a number of districts. Coimbatore recorded a surge in cases from 602 to 863. Similarly, Madurai’s daily tally rose from 330 to 512. Cases increased in Tirunelveli too, as 479 people tested positive, when compared to 137 on the previous day. Tiruchi logged 437 cases. There were 200-plus cases in six districts, including Kanniyakumari (289), Vellore (270) and Salem (256).

Though the daily cases have been rising steadily in the State, the percentage increase has dropped in the last few days. Cases were up by 9.9% on Tuesday.

The new cases took the State’s overall tally to 28,29,655. The number of COVID-19 deaths saw a marginal rise to 20, with Chennai alone accounting for nine fatalities. The toll stood at 36,886.

The number of active cases rose to 75,083. Chennai accounted for the most number of active cases, at 35,833, followed by Chengalpattu (8,977) and Tiruvallur (4,511).

A total of 3,043 patients, including 1,389 from Chennai, were discharged.