(Eds: Adds details)
Chennai, Jun 16 () Tamil Nadu on Tuesday reported 49 COVID-19 deaths, highest in a single day, taking the toll to 528 as 1,515 new cases pushed the tally to 48,019 in the state.
Chief Minister K Palaniswami, meanwhile, ordered officials to handover Rs 1,000 cash relief to rice ration card holders by going to their neighbourhoods.
The assistance is for those residing in Chennai, its suburbs and a string of other nearby areas that fall under Tiruvallur, Chengelpet and Kancheepuram districts.
The aid is for card holders in all such localities that will see a return of lockdown from June 19 to 30 without any of the present relaxations, Palaniswami said.
Chennai Police said it has so far registered cases against 66 COVID-19 patients for flouting isolation and quarantinenorms and roaming around paving the way for spreading the infection further.
"Tough action will be taken against those who freely roam around despite being isolated following testing positive for coronavirus," police said.
Greater Chennai Corporation said it conducted 478 fever camps today in which 27,577 people were screened and 588 Influenza Like Illness (ILI) cases detected.
As many as 46 of the deceased had comorbidities which includes diabetes, hypertension and renal disease, a health department bulletin said.
The state also saw the highest number of 19,242 samples tested and recoveries (1,438 people) in a single day today.
So far, 7,48,244 specimens have been examined and 26,782 people have got cured of the illness caused by the virus.
Of the 1,515 new cases, Chennai accounted for 919 while three were foreign returnees.
The state capital, which reported close to 1,500 cases on a couple of recent days, fell below the 1,000 mark to 919 cases today.
After posting close to 2,000 fresh cases for six consecutive days, the count of new infections dropped to 1,515 today.
From May 31, the fresh cases crossed 1,000 mark and during the first week of this month, the new infections steadily climbed and on June 7, it crossed the 1,500 mark for the first time.
The tally of positive cases in the state stood at 48,019 out of which Chennai's count was 34,245.
The active cases were 20,706.
While 35 died in government hospitals, 14 others succumbed in private facilities and the deaths, which occurred over the past few days, were reported together today by the government. VGN BN SS