TN crosses 17,000-mark; 84% COVID-19 deaths due to co-morbidities, state health department says

Tamil Nadu’s COVID-19 death rate at 0.69 percent is one of the lowest in the country and 84 percent of coronavirus deaths are due to co-morbidities like diabetes and hypertension, a study carried out by the Health Department has claimed.

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The study also found that 88 percent of those tested positive in Tamil Nadu are asymptomatic and only 12 percent displayed symptoms. Of the symptomatic patients, 40 percent reported fever, 37 percent cough, 10 percent sore throat, 9 percent breathlessness, and 4 percent running nose.

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The details of the study were released by Health Minister C Vijayabhaskar on Monday, who claimed that the Tamil Nadu model of reducing the death rate is being studied by other states. The Minister said doctors from various hospitals of Tamil Nadu are being consulted by various states on the model.

However, the Minister did not take any questions as he was addressing reporters through video-conferencing. Questions posed by reporters tagging Vijayabaskar on Twitter were also not answered as the minister ignored them completely.

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He released the details even as Tamil Nadu reported the single biggest spike in a day with 805 positive cases, including 93 persons who returned from abroad and other states. The state’s tally went up to 17,082 with 8,731 discharges and 118 deaths – seven of which were reported on Monday.

And for the first time in nearly a month, the number of active cases was lesser than the number of discharges which has hit 8,731 against 8,230 active cases, putting the recovery rate of Tamil Nadu at 51.11 percent.

According to the study, Tamil Nadu has the lowest death rate at 0.69 percent with over 84 percent of the deaths occurring due to co-morbidities. “Of the comorbidities, uncontrolled diabetes and hypertension and other diseases are the major contributors to the death in the state,” Vijayabhaskar said.

Of the deaths, 46.5 percent of the patients were above 40 years of age, another 46.5 percent of the patients above 60 years of age, and 7 percent below 40 years of age. While 69 percent of the dead were male, the remaining 31 percent were women, the study said.

The government has been maintaining that majority of the COVID-19 deaths in Tamil Nadu were due to co-morbidities and exclusive Coronavirus deaths are less when compared to other states.

The state has so far tested 4,21,450 samples, one of the highest in the country.