The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu was reported on 7 March 2020.
The largest single-day spike (36,987 cases) was reported on 13 May 2021 and Tamil Nadu now has the fourth highest number of confirmed cases in India after Maharashtra, Kerala and Karnataka. All 38 districts of the state are affected by the pandemic, with capital district Chennai being the worst affected.
As per the Health Department, 88% of the patients are asymptomatic while 84% of deaths were among those with co-morbidities. In June, the state saw a surge in deaths with 209 deaths (36% of the state's recorded deaths) occurring between 11 and 16 June 2020. Another large local cluster in Koyambedu of Chennai was identified in May 2020.
The state government has responded to the outbreak by following a contact-tracing, testing and surveillance model. The state has 85 laboratories approved by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), capable of conducting tests.The state was under a lockdown since 25 March which was relaxed to an extent from 4 May onwards. The lockdown was further extended until 30 June with significant relaxations from 1 June 2020. The state enforced a stricter lockdown in four majorly-affected districts, which included Chennai and its three neighbouring districts of Chengalpattu, Thiruvallur and Kancheepuram from 19 to 30 June 2020.
Timeline of events
March
The first case of coronavirus was confirmed on 7 March in a resident from Kanchipuram in Chennai. He had returned from Oman and started developing symptoms including fever and cough. He was isolated in Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital. Later, on 10 March, he recovered and tested negative.
After more than a week without new cases, on 18 March, the second person who had travelled by train from Delhi to Chennai confirmed positive. He did not have any history of foreign travel and was described as a domestic case by the state health minister C. Vijayabaskar.
On 19 March, a 21-year-old student who returned from Ireland tested positive.
On 21 March, a further three were confirmed positive - A Chennai man who had travelled from New Zealand and two Thailand nationals in Erode. They were admitted to IRT Hospital in Perundurai in Erode. More than 300 people who had come in contact with the three patients were quarantined.
On 25 March, the first virus-related death in the state was reported after a 54-year-old man in Madurai died. Five others were infected - four Indonesians and their travel guide from Chennai. The five were in quarantine since 22 March in Salem Medical College.
On 28 March, a 21-year-old youth who had just returned from a trip to Dublin, Ireland was discharged from the hospital. Two new cases - one each in Kumbakonam and Katpadi were reported. With this, the total number of confirmed cases had reached 40 in the state.
On 29 March, the state reported eight more cases (four each from Coimbatore and Erode), all of which were linked to the two Thai nationals and their group who had tested positive. The eight included a 10-month-old baby. The total number of confirmed cases reached 50.
On 30 March, 17 new cases were reported, highest to date in the state - 10 male patients from Erode, all of whom have travelled to Delhi were in contact with the Thailand tourists, 5 in Chennai and 1 each in Karur and Madurai.
On 31 March, 57 new cases were reported, all with a history of travel predominately to Delhi, bringing the total to 124. It was the highest single day rise to date. 50 of these cases were from Namakkal (18), Tirunelveli (22), Kanyakumari (4) Villupuram (3), Madurai (2) and Thoothukudi (1), all had travel history to Delhi. Officials had discovered that at least 80 out of 124 confirmed cases (79 per cent) in Tamil Nadu were from one cluster as they are direct or indirect contact of the two Thai nationals who had tested positive for on 21 March. The Thai nationals, identified as patients 5 and 6 were part of a large group from countries including Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc. who had visited the state for an annual pilgrimage. This group had also attended a 3-day Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Nizamuddin Markaz mosque, New Delhi in early March. It was estimated that more than 1,500 people from the state had participated in this event. Officials also confirmed that the 54-year-old patient who had died the previous week had also participated in the gathering. Of 1,500 people who were in the gathering, 1,130 had returned to the state. The government had identified and isolated 515 of the 1,130 people. It faced difficulty while trying to map the rest. It had urged people who attended the gathering to step forward and get tested. Following this, the Nizamuddin Markaz emerged as a new virus hotspot.
April On 1 April, the state reported 110 new cases, all attended the Delhi Nizamuddin event. The total became 234. Health Secretary Beela Rajesh said that 1103 out of 1500 attendees of the event had been traced and isolated. 658 of their samples had been tested of which,190 tested positive. Some of the participants approached officials themselves after government's request. Family members and close contacts were either taken to quarantine facilities or home quarantined.
On 2 April, 75 new cases were reported, of which 74 of them attended Tablighi Jamaat in Delhi.
On 3 April, 102 new cases were reported, of which 100 were Delhi event participants. Two others were from Chennai, one with co-morbid condition and one US-returnee.
On 4 April, 74 new cases were reported, of which 69 were Delhi event participants, 4 were contacts of the event participants. One was from Chennai. Two more deaths were reported, a 51 years old male who attended Tablighi Jamaat at Villupuram and a female at Theni Government hospital.
On 5 April, 86 new cases were reported of which 85 are related to Delhi event directly or indirectly. A 71 year old from Ramanathapuram who died on Thursday was tested positive. A 60 year old also died in the same hospital as previous patient. The Health department revealed that 1246 contacts of Tablighi Jamaat participants have been traced and isolated so far.
On 6 April, 50 new cases were reported bringing the total cases to 621. 48 of them were returnees of Delhi event. 101 people who attended a COVID-19 victim's burial were home-quarantined in Ramanathapuram. They were not aware of his condition as the test result returned positive after only two days his burial.
On 7 April, 69 new cases were reported, of which 63 were related to Delhi event.
On 8 April, 48 new cases were reported bringing total to 738. 42 of those are connected to Tablighi Jamaat in Delhi. One among the 42 is a Malaysian national. Government had revealed that 1480 attendees of the Delhi event were traced and isolated. 1716 samples from them and their contacts were tested, of which 679 had returned positive.
On 9 April, the state reported 96 new cases which brought the total cases to 834.
On 10 April, 77 new cases were reported bringing total to 911. 17 cases were clinically recovered, bringing the total recovered to 44.
On 11 April, 58 new cases were reported bringing the total to 969 of which, 47 belonged to the Delhi cluster. One more died in IRT Government Hospital at Perundurai in Erode, taking the death toll to 10. The state government revealed that it will decide on the lockdown extension based on Centre's announcement.
On 12 April, 106 new cases were reported bringing the total to 1075. One death was reported, a 45-year-old women died on previous day evening, she was undergoing treatment at a Government Hospital in Chennai. The new infections were found in clusters in Chennai - where four were primary sources and Coimbatore - where two primary sources were identified. According to the health department, of the 106 new cases, 90 contracted the infection from them 16 people who had travel history.
On 13 April, 98 new cases were reported bringing the total to 1173.
On 14 April, 31 new cases were reported bringing the total to 1204. It was the lowest daily rise since 31 March. A 96-year-old died, making the total of 12 deaths in the state.
On 15 April, 38 new cases were reported in the state of which, 34 were related to Delhi cluster. Deaths of two men were reported, a 47-year-old man with SARI in Stanley Government hospital, Chennai and a 59-year-old man in a private hospital, making the total of 14 deaths in the state.
On 16 April, 25 new cases were reported bringing total to 1267. One death was reported making total of 15 deaths in the state
On 17 April, 56 new cases were reported which brought the total to 1323.
On 18 April, 49 new cases were reported which brought the total to 1372. 82 patients were discharged making total recovered cases as 365. On 19 April, 105 new cases were reported, third highest daily increase to date. 46 patients were discharged making total recovered cases as 411.
On 20 April, 43 new cases reported in Tamil Nadu bringing the total cases in Tamil Nadu to 1,520. The infection rate in the state had dropped from 13% on 1 April 2020 to 3.6%.
On 22 April, 33 new cases reported in Tamil Nadu bringing the total cases to 1,629. 27 patients were discharged making total discharged to 662. No death were reported for the day.
On 23 April, Dharmapuri district reported its first COVID-19 case, 54 new cases were reported in the state bringing the total cases to 1,683. 2 more died. 90 patients were discharged making total discharged to 752.
On 24 April, 72 new cases were reported, of which 52 cases are from Chennai, Total confirmed cases stood at 1755. 2 more died which took the total fatality to 22. 114 patients were discharged making total discharged to 886.
On 28 April, with 121 new reported cases, the total number crossed 2000 to become 2058. Chennai continued to be the worst-hit district with 103 new cases. It had 673 cases, which was of all the cases in Tamil Nadu.
May
In May, the Koyambedu Wholesale Market Complex emerged as a new hotspot in Chennai. By 3 May, 113 infections were traced back to the market. The infected were spread across Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Cuddalore and Chengalpattu districts as there were loaders who travelled out of Chennai even during the lockdown. Areas around Koyambedu were sealed and the infected vendors' contacts were being traced. Thiruvanmiyur market in South Chennai was also closed after a vegetable vendor who used to visit Koyambedu market tested positive.
On 6 May, 771 cases were reported in the state, which took the total to 4829. It was the highest single day rise to date.
On 8 May, 600 new cases were reported. The Koyambedu cluster accounted for 1589 cases in the state.
On 11 May, with 798 new cases, the total surpassed 8000 to become 8002 in the state. Chennai continued to be the worst-hit district. It recorded its highest single-day rise with 538 cases which brought the total to 4371. The state health minister said, "Chennai has cases from the Koyambedu cluster, front line workers cluster, hospital cluster and mediapersons cluster. Royapuram, Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, Kodambakkam and Teynampet are the four highly-affected zones in the city".
On 14 May, state reported 447 confirmed cases, of which 24 cases were among interstate and international returnees to the state.
On 15 May, state reported 434 confirmed cases, of which 49 cases were among interstate and international returnees to the state.
On 16 May, state reported 477 confirmed cases, of which 93 cases were among interstate and international returnees to the state. The state reported 939 recoveries, highest reported discharges in a single day.
On 26 May, the state reported its highest single day rise of 805, bringing the total to 17,082. Chennai accounted for more than 11,000 of the cases. The worst-affected regions of Chennai include Royapuram, Tondiarpet, Kodambakkam, Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, Anna Nagar and Teynampet.