Daily new cases come down by 50 per cent in 15 days

According to Chennai Corporation and State government's periodic data, the city had reported as many as 2,393 new cases on June 30 but on July 14, only 1,078 new cases were reported. Also, barring a few days, the number of cases was continuously declining. Interestingly, the number of cases came down by more than 500 on July 7 as the city reported 1,216 cases only when compared to the previous day's tally of 1,747. Overall, as many as 79,662 cases have been reported in the city.

Meanwhile, the civic body had tested more than 1.15 lakh samples between July 3 to July 14 with the highest number of samples tested on July 4, when the city tested 11,144 samples. However, of the total samples tested during the period, as many as 16,940 persons were identified as COVID-19 positive, which is only 14 per cent positivity rate.

As on Wednesday morning, the city has recorded a 79 per cent recovery rate as 62,552 persons have recovered from the disease. As many as 15,814 persons are under treatment and 1,295 patients died, which is 1.63 per cent.

Explaining the reason for improvement, State Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said that the fever camps conducted by the Chennai Corporation have played a major role in identifying positive cases and prevent further spreading.

"Apart from this, we have increased testing across the State. The State is testing 42,000 to 45,000 samples every day," he added.

While acknowledging the dip in new cases, Chennai Corporation Commissioner G Prakash warned the city residents not to become complacent.

"Complete lockdown imposed by the government helped to control the spread in the city. We should continue to follow social distancing norms and wear masks," Prakash said.