Chennai, March 12 (BPNS)

After a gap of nearly two years, Tamil Nadu recorded zero Covid deaths on Friday, according to Tamil Nadu state public health department. The last time the state reported zero death due to Covid was on April 30, 2020.

The number of fresh cases on Friday however stood at 112. Sixteen of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu reported no new cases while others had marginal number of fresh cases.

Tamil Nadu health secretary, J. Radhakrishnan while speaking to BPNS said, “ The number of fatalities have touched zero on Friday in the state and this is a welcome development. There are few number of people admitted in hospitals and ICUs and things are under control.”

It may be noted that Tamil Nadu reported its first Covid- 19 case on March 7, 2020, and on March 20, 2020, the state reported its first death due to Covid. A 54-year-old businessman with severe comorbidities passed away at the Government Rajaji Memorial Medical college hospital, Madurai on March 20, 2020. On April 30, 2020, the state did not report any new deaths but by then the state death toll due to Covid -19 had touched 27.

After April 30, 2020, there was at least one death that was reported due to Covid -19 till it reported zero deaths on March 11, 2021, Friday.

Radhakrishnan said ,” On April 15, 2020, the state reported 127 deaths and it was the highest during the first wave and on May 30, 2021, the state reported the 493 deaths, the highest in a day. It were worst days, we didn’t have adequate number of beds, oxygen, or drugs to overcome this. We have come a long way from those days.”

During the third wave, the highest number of deaths was on January 27, 2022 when the state recorded 53 deaths. In January 2022, there were a total of 788 Covid -19 deaths while in February 2022, the number of deaths due to Covid -19 was 440.

It may be noted that the total death toll since March 2020 when the first death was reported in the state is 38,023.

Director of Public Health, Tamil Nadu, Dr. T.S. Selvavinayagam while speaking to BPNS said, “ After vaccinations, the number of people who are being admitted to hospitals due to Covid -19 has come down drastically. Most of the people who lost their lives were either unvaccinated or elderly people with comorbid conditions.”