Recovery rate highest in Chennai, says Chief Minister Edappadi

“So far, 1,66,956 persons have recovered from COVID-19 in the state which is 73 per cent of the total infection and in Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) 81,530 persons have recovered which is 84.5 per cent,” he said in the meeting with district collectors held through video conferencing on Wednesday.

Following the meeting with the District Collectors, the Chief Minister will hold a meeting with the 19-member medical expert team at the Secretariat on Thursday to take a decision on extension of lockdown.

As the sixth phase of lockdown is scheduled to end on July 31, the Chief Minister held a meeting with the District Collectors in which he reviewed the COVID-19 conditions in each and every district. District Collectors briefed the Chief Minister about the COVID-19 facilities in their respective districts and the funds required for continuing the COVID-19 treatment facilities there.

The Chief Minister also obtained their views on providing relaxations on public transport. Sources in the Secretariat said that the government is likely to operate buses in the districts other than Chennai.

In the inaugural address of the meeting, Chief Minister Palaniswami said that Tamil Nadu is the leader when it comes to number of COVID-19 tests being carried out. “Till date COVID-19 tests were carried out on 24.7 lakh people in the state and 63,000 tests are taken on a daily basis which is highest in the country,” he said. Speaking about COVID-19 deaths, the Chief Minister said that 3,659 personas have died of COVID-19 in the state, including 2,058 deaths in Chennai.