Tamil Nadu today became the first State in the country to test one million samples for Covid-19 infection. This comes on a day when the State reported a record single day highest addition of 3,509 cases taking the infection tally to 70,977.

While it took more than two months to test 500,000 samples, it took just 25 days for the State to double that number.

On Thursday, 32,543 samples were tested to take the total past the one million mark to 10,08,974. Maharashtra is a distant second with over 8.50 lakh samples tested so far.

Tamil Nadu significantly ramped up the testing in the last nine days with over 25,000 samples tested every day. This will keep increasing further, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami told newspersons recently.

The State’s total sample testing is nearly 13 per cent of the 7.50 million tested across the country.

Out of the total positive cases reported in the last 24 hours, in Chennai alone 1,834 cases were added to take the total number of cases in the city to 47,650. In Madurai it was 203; in Chengalpattu 191; Tiruvallur 170; Vellore 168; Ramanathapuram 140 and the balance split among other districts, including Kancheepuram, Salem and Theni.

After 2,236 Covid-19 patients were discharged post treatment, the number of active cases in the State stood at 30,064.

On Thursday, 45 Covid-19 patients died to take the total number of fatalities due to the virus to 911, said a health ministry bulletin.

Meanwhile, over 30 personnel attached to Naval Air Station INS Parundu here have tested positive for coronavirus, district officials said on Thursday.

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