COVID-19 pandemic in Tamil Nadu
The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu was reported on 7 March 2020.
| COVID-19 pandemic in Tamil Nadu | |
|---|---|
| Disease | COVID-19 |
| Virus strain | SARS-CoV-2 |
| Location | Tamil Nadu, India |
| First outbreak | Wuhan, Hubei, China |
| Index case | Chennai and Erode |
| Arrival date | 20 December 2019 |
| Confirmed cases | 28,68,500 As of January 14, 2022 |
| Active cases | 1,03,610 As of January 14, 2022 |
| Recovered | 27,27,960 As of January 14, 2022 |
Deaths | 60,930 As of April 04, 2022 |
| Fatality rate | 1.68% |
Territories | All 38 districts |
| Government website | |
| stopcorona Tamil Nadu COVID-19 Public dashboard | |
The largest single-day spike (36,987 cases) was reported on 13 May 2021 and Tamil Nadu now has the fourth highest number of confirmed cases in India after Maharashtra, Kerala and Karnataka. All 38 districts of the state are affected by the pandemic, with capital district Chennai being the worst affected.
As per the Health Department, 88% of the patients are asymptomatic while 84% of deaths were among those with co-morbidities. In June, the state saw a surge in deaths with 209 deaths (36% of the state's recorded deaths) occurring between 11 and 16 June 2020. Another large local cluster in Koyambedu of Chennai was identified in May 2020.
The state government has responded to the outbreak by following a contact-tracing, testing and surveillance model. The state has 85 laboratories approved by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), capable of conducting tests.The state was under a lockdown since 25 March which was relaxed to an extent from 4 May onwards. The lockdown was further extended until 30 June with significant relaxations from 1 June 2020. The state enforced a stricter lockdown in four majorly-affected districts, which included Chennai and its three neighbouring districts of Chengalpattu,Thiruvallur and Kancheepuram from 19 to 30 June 2020.