Flip Side of Political Mandate: West Bengal & Tamil Nadu Register Highest Covid Spike on Counting Day

While the political mandate in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu may have been a cause for celebration for many, both the states reported their highest single-day rise in Covid-19 cases on the day of counting for assembly elections on Sunday.

While Bengal recorded 17,515 new infections in 24 hours, Tamil Nadu reported 20,768 new cases.

With the new addition, Bengal’s Covid-19 tally rose to 8,63,393, according to the state health department. The death toll in the state climbed to 11,539 with 92 more fatalities, it added.

In the past 24 hours, 15,587 people were cured of the disease, taking the total number of recoveries to 7,33,359, and the discharge rate of COVID patients is at 84.94 per cent.

West Bengal now has 1,18,495 active cases, a health ministry bulletin stated, adding, 56,209 samples were tested since Saturday.

Meanwhile, the addition of 20,768 new Covid-19 infections has pushed the caseload to 12,07,112 while the death toll rose to 14,346 with 153 fatalities in Tamil Nadu.

According to the state health department, recoveries mounted to 10,72,322 Sunday with 17,576 patients being discharged, leaving 1,20,444 active cases.

The number of samples tested stood at 1,43,083, pushing the cumulative number of specimens examined so far to 2,29,56,942.

Tamil Nadu had breached the 10,000 cases mark on April 18, by adding 10,723 new infections.

The state capital constituted the major chunk of new cases accounting for 6,078 on Sunday, aggregating to 3,45,966 till date.

The metropolis also leads in the number of fatalities with 4,820 deaths.

Apart from Chennai reporting new infections in four digits, neighbouring Chengalpet district clocked 1,582 fresh cases, Coimbatore added 1,441 and Thiruvallur logged 1,049.

Among the other districts, Madurai saw 880 fresh cases followed by Salem (582), Erode (549), Krishnagiri (503), Kancheepuram (495) and Kanyakumari (317).

As many as 26 people who arrived from various destinations, including one passenger from the United Arab Emirates were among those who tested positive for the virus.

Among the 153 deceased, 81 succumbed in private healthcare facilities, while the remaining were at government run hospitals.

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