Tamil Nadu reports 57 Covid-19 positive cases; biggest single-day jump

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu saw the highest spike in cases on Tuesday with 57 new people testing positive for the novel Coronavirus in the State.

This brings the total number of cases in the state to 124, putting Tamil Nadu behind Maharashtra and Kerala in terms of the total number of positive cases.

Of the 57 cases, 50 were people who had attended the religious congregation in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area, Tamil Nadu Health Secretary, Dr Beela Rajesh said.


Over 1100 people participated in the congregation. Dr Rajesh said 515 people have been identified. She said work is underway to track down the rest of the participants.

"It is our sincere appeal to those who have attended the conference to come forward," she said while addressing the media on Tuesday. "Most of those who attended the conference travelled by flight or train. Even if you have gone to other States, please inform us."

The 3-day Tablighi Jamaat conference at the Markaz Nizamuddin mosque was attended by around 1,500 people from the state, health department officials said.

Of the 45 positive cases that were reported in the evening, 22 people belonged to Thirunelveli, 1 from Tuticorin, 4 from Kanyakumari and 18 from Namakkal.

When asked about the formation of clusters, specifically the Erode cluster, the Health Secretary said the government's policy was not to 'wait for a cluster' to form which is why she said the government began containment activities before the Erode cluster came up.