Tamil Nadu's COVID-19 spike continues unabated, tally zooms past 31k

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Adding over 8,000 infections in the last eight days, Tamil Nadu's COVID-19 tally on Sunday shot past the 31,000 mark, with a total of 269 deaths, and nearly 17,000 people getting cured of the deadly virus.

A 20-year-old girl was among the 18 fatalities on Sunday, even as the daily cases touched a new high of 1,515 leading to a cumulative tally of 31,667 infections, according to a health department bulletin.

This is the eighth consecutive day the state has reported cases in excess of 1,000.

As many as 16,999 people have been cured of the virus so far, leaving 14,396 active cases, including those admitted to the isolation wards.

Eighteen among the 1,515 fresh cases were returnees from other states and foreign countries, while Chennai recorded a new high among districts with 1,155 COVID-19 cases, totalling 22,149, the bulletin said.

The 20-year-old victim from neighbouring Vellore was admitted to a government medical college hospital on May 31 with a complaint of 'gestational hypertension'.

She tested COVID-19 positive on June 6 and breathed her last on the same day due to 'acute renal failure-cardiorespiratory arrest', the bulletin said.

As many as 11 people above the age of 60 years have succumbed to the virus, and 15 of the 18 deceased were from Chennai and suffering from various co-morbidities.

Of the total 269 deaths reported in the state, 212 were from the state capital.

Over 5.66 lakh tests have been conducted so far, with 15,671 on Sunday alone.

Two private labs in Chennai have received the nod for conducting COVID-19 tests, taking the total number of testing facilities to 76 in the state.