Tamil Nadu reports 2,279 new Covid-19 infections; 14 deaths

: Continuing its steady rise, Tamil

Nadu logged 2,279 new infections on Monday, including one from the UAE,pushing the caseload to 8.81 lakh while 14 more deaths took the toll to 12,684, the health department said.

The number of cases crossed the 1,000 mark on March 19 after an over 80 day gap and went past the 2,000 mark on March 27.

Total recoveries have touched 8,55,085 with 1,352 patients being discharged, leaving 13,983 active cases.

Chennai accounted for most of the new infections with 815 cases, taking the aggregate to 2,47,148.

The metropolis also leads in the number of fatalities with 4,232.

A total of 80,704 samples were tested on Monday, pushing the cumulative number of specimens examined so far to 1,94,28,501.

Five districts, including Chennai, clocked new infections in triple digits -- Chengalpet 202, Coimbatore 211, Thanjavur 129 Thiruvallur 129, while 23 reported fresh cases in double digits.

Among the 14 deceased, the youngest was a 38 year-old man with 'systemic hypertension', the bulletin said.

Eight people from outside the state, including one from the United Arab Emirates, were among those who tested positive today, it said.