Tamil Nadu recorded as many as 98 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Monday, pushing the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 1,173. Tamil Nadu has witnessed 11 coronavirus-related deaths so far.

Speaking to the media, health secretary Beela Rajesh said of the 98 new cases, 91 contracted the infection from the same source. Out of the remaining 7, 4 were infected from a contact who had previously tested positive.

Chennai has the most number of cases with 208 (9 new), followed by Coimbatore with 126 cases (7 new), Tirupur with 78 cases (18 new), Karur with 41 cases (15 new), and Madurai with 39 cases (14 new)

She said all severe acute respiratory infections (SARI), high risk and low-risk cases were being aggressively tested in the state using PCR kits without waiting for the arrival of rapid test kits ordered from China.

Research teams in medical colleges across Tamil Nadu were also conducting clinical trials using the plasma of patients who recovered from Covid-19,she added.

