Nearly 4k cases in a day in TN; 18-mth-old among 54 casualties

Nearly 4k cases in a day in TN; 18-mth-old among 54 casualties

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

Chennai: 28.06.2020

The daily count of fresh Covid-19 infections in Tamil Nadu nudged 4,000 on Sunday with the rest of the state accounting for nearly half the cases, a departure from the norm of Chennai logging two-thirds of them on most days.

A one-and-a-half-year-old became the youngest victim in TN, numbering among the 54 dead. The death toll is now 1,079.

The number of active cases in the state was 36,738 as 45,537 people had so far been discharged after treatment.

Chennai had 1,992 of the 3,940 fresh cases, but except Karur and Krishnagiri all other districts recorded cases, mostly in double digits. Madurai (284) and Kallakurichi (124) had the most cases after Chennai.

FINGERS CROSSED: A woman at a corona testing centre in Triplicane, Chennai

Contact-tracing API in Google & Apple

Recent updates to your Android-run and Apple smartphones have automatically embedded a contact-tracing API (application programme interface) into the device that can enable an app – like Aarogya Setu app of the government — to monitor your movement and warn you of corona infections near you, reports Pankaj Doval. However, you need not worry as the API alone does not lead to monitoring of your movement. The API is just an enabling tool and needs to be embedded into an app — such as Aarogya Setu, if the government collaborates — which will then monitor your location and send you alerts of any nearby infections on a Google or Apple phone. However, many users have expressed reservations about the API addition into their devices, as they fear it has the potential to violate their privacy by monitoring their movements. The reservations come after protests against Aarogya app. P11

‘4.8% of positive cases aged below 12’

The 18-month-old boy from Tindivanam, who had cerebral palsy and developmental delay with aspiration pneumonia, was brought to Villupuram Government Medical College Hospital after choking on food. He died on Saturday and samples tested positive for Covid.

Senior paediatrician Balasubramanian from Kanchi Kamakoti Child Trust Hospital said, the number of children getting affected was small compared to adults and studies showed this was not going to change. There is no need to panic, he added. Official data show that only 4.8% of the total positive cases are aged below 12.

Sunday’s bulletin also mentioned that a 42-year-old pregnant woman with gestational hypertension died on Friday after delivery. Twor men -- a sexagenarian from Chennai and a 50-year-old from Chengalpet -- were brought dead to hospital and were found positive later. Eight of the dead had no comorbidity. Among them was a 29-year-old man from Chengalpet.

As many as 42 out of 54 fatalities reported on Sunday were from Chennai and its three neighbouring districts.

Of the remaining 12 deaths, nine were from southern districts of Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Dindigul and Tirunelveli.

As many as 42 out of 54 fatalities reported on Sunday were from Chennai and its three neighbouring districts. Of the remaining 12 deaths, nine were from southern districts of Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Dindigul and Tirunelveli