Covid-19 in Tamil Nadu: Total cases cross 19,000; Health minister hits back at opposition

There are 8,676 active cases in the state.

“Chennai reported 559 cases and the total number of cases stands at 12,203. Six people who traveled from Chennai to Salem through the domestic flight on Wednesday have tested positive. There were a total of 56 passengers on board and as a precautionary measure, all of them have been quarantined,” the minister said.

He also pointed out that the state’s mortality rate is 0.74 per cent which is lower than other states where there are more Covid-19 positive cases. “So far 1,253 returnees from other states have tested positive for Covid-19. A total of 936 people from Maharashtra alone have tested positive till date,” he said.

Reacting to accusations by the opposition party that the Tamil Nadu government has failed to control the spread of coronavirus, the minister said it’s not the time to play politics as the government and health experts are putting a lot of effort and risking their lives to curb the spread of the pandemic in the state.

With 639 patients getting discharged following treatment today, the number of people recoveries crossed 10,000 in the state. The toll reached 145 in Tamil Nadu with twelve fatalities recorded in the last 24 hours.

38 flights operated from Chennai International Airport

A total of 38 flights plied between Chennai and major cities on Thursday. There were 19 arrivals and 19 departures at the Chennai International Airport today. The first flight to Chennai was a SpiceJet flight from Bengaluru which touched down in the city at 8.45 am. The last flight to Chennai was a SpiceJet flight at 11.20 pm from New Delhi.

@aaichnairport update: Arrival/ Departure schedule for 28.05.2020.@AAI_Official @MoCA_GoI @DGCAIndia @pibchennai @TOIChennai @THChennai @jsamdaniel @aaiTRZairport @dinamalarweb @NewIndianXpress @TamilnaduLive @CMOTamilNadu @Vijayabaskarofl @PTI_News @ANI @terajasimhan pic.twitter.com/28RHdoZksK

— Chennai (MAA) Airport (@aaichnairport) May 27, 2020

The first flight from Chennai, which was bound for Port Blair, departed from the Chennai International Airport at 5.05 am, while the last flight for today departed from Chennai at 8.50 pm for Hyderabad.

Total number of cases in Royapuram cross 2,200

Even as the total number of Covid-19 cases in state capital Chennai touched 12,203, data released by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) indicated that Royapuram (Zone 5) has the highest number of cases in the city.

As of 8 am on Tuesday, Royapuram has 2,252 positive cases, while Alandur (Zone 12) has the least number of cases with 165.

Here is the Zonal-wise break-up of positive cases in Chennai:

• Thiruvottiyur (Zone 1) – 369
• Manali (Zone 2) – 168
• Madhavaram (Zone 3) – 274
• Tondiarpet (Zone 4) – 1262
• Royapuram (Zone 5) – 2252
• Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar (Zone 6) – 1325
• Ambattur (Zone 7) – 504
• Anna Nagar (Zone 8) – 1046
• Teynampet (Zone 9) – 1317
• Kodambakkam (Zone 10) – 1559
• Valasaravakkam (Zone 11) – 777
• Alandur (Zone 12) – 165
• Adyar (Zone 13) – 672
• Perungudi (Zone 14) – 212
• Sholinganallur (Zone 15) – 208

51 Chennai localities declared as non-containment zones

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) on Thursday declared 51 localities across Chennai as non-containment zones, after no new cases were recorded in the areas over the past 14 days.

According to a list released by the GCC, two localities in Thiruvottiyur, five localities in Manali, 17 localities in Madhavaram, one locality in Tondiarpet, eight localities in Royapuram, 12 localities in Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar, two localities in Ambattur, one locality in Anna Nagar, one locality in Teynampet and two localities in Kodambakkam have been declared as non-containment zones.

Southern Railway Division office in Chennai closed

The Southern Railway Division office in Chennai has been closed after an official tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday. The office has been closed for disinfection and all other officials and staff are being tested for the virus.

Thousands of migrant workers journey back home

Thousands of migrant workers stranded across Tamil Nadu returned to their hometowns via eight Shramik Special trains on Thursday so far.

A train between between Tiruppur and Dibrugarh left for Dibrugarh at 2 pm, followed by a second train from Tiruppur to Hajipur at 4 pm.

A third train bound for Baurauni left from Erode station at 4 pm, while a fourth train from Tiruvallur to Muzaffarpur departed from Tiruvallur at 5.20 pm.

Another train from Chennai to Dharbhanga left for Dharbhanga at 6.15 pm from Chennai Egmore station.

This was followed by a sixth train between Chennai and Deoria-Sadar which departed for Deoria-Sadar at 7.16 pm from the Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M G Ramachandran Chennai Central Station.

Another train from Tiruppur to Gorakhpur departed for Gorakhpur at 7.30 pm, while an eighth train from Tiruvallur to Malda Town departed at 8.25 pm.

All the passengers were thermally scanned before boarding and were instructed to adhere to social distancing norms while boarding and travelling.