The state of Tamil Nadu has reported 688 fresh cases that were tested positive for Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Tuesday through which the state has crossed 12,000 cases by reporting 12,448 so far in its territory including the active, discharged, and deceased patients. With the current tally, Tamil Nadu has surpassed Gujarat and became the second Indian state with the most number of cases after Maharashtra. 

After recording a steep decline in the cases last week, the graph has again been hitting with the sharpest rises amid the restrictions as most of the people returned from other regions have been tested positive for the virus. According to the press release issued by the state health department concerning the outbreak, Tamil Nadu has tested 3,48,174 samples so far including 10,333 that were tested on Tuesday of which 688 samples returned positive. 

These 688 cases include 87 people who returned from other regions - 36 from Dubai, Kuwait, and Malaysia, 49 from Maharashtra, one each from Maldives and Kerala. Of these 688 cases, 407 are males while the rest 281 are female patients and 552 belong to Chennai, 22 belong to Chengalpattu, 20 belong to Tirunelveli, 11 belong to Kallakurichi, eight belong to Thiruvallur, six each from Karur and Thoothukdui, five belong to Kancheepuram.

Four belong to Kanyakumari, three each from Dindigul and Thanjavur, two each from Tenkasi, Ramanathapuram, and Cuddalore, one each from Nagapattinam, Ranipet, Theni, Trichy, and Virudhunagar and apart from these, 36 people have been kept under quarantine in Airport and all these had returned from abroad. 

Although recording one of the sharpest rises in the number of fresh cases, the state has also reported 489 fresh discharges on Tuesday taking the total number of discharges to 4,895 so far and it has recorded three fresh fatalities through which the state's death toll stands at 84. According to the press release, a 64-year-old from Thiruvallur, a 72-year-old male and an 82-year-old male from Chennai had died due to the infection. These three had passed away at the Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital in Chennai. 

With the current reporting of 552 cases, Chennai still has been witnessing a rapid spread of the pandemic and the city has recorded 7,672 cases so far including Tuesday's tally and it is one of the highest reportings of the Indian city and it has contributed nearly 70% of the total number of affected cases in the state, which has been gradually exiting from the lockdown. 

As of Tuesday evening, the state has reported 12,448 positive cases so far of which 7,466 are active - including isolation, 4,895 have been discharged, and 84 had succumbed to the virus. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Tamil Nadu is doing the highest number of COVID-19 tests than any other Indian state so far and it has tested 10,333 samples on Tuesday, which is relatively low than the preceding week, amid the debate of the reason behind the fluctuation COVID-19 testing in the state. 

To read the press release, visit: https://stopcorona.tn.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Media-Bulletin-19-05-20-COVID-19-6-PM.pdf