Chennai, July 26: The surge in COVID-19 infections continues in South India, with Tamil Nadu recording a single-day high of nearly 7,000 cases. In neighbouring Kerala, over 900 cases were recorded on a third consecutive day. Both the states will continue a restricted lockdown strategy with maximum curbs in containment zones.

"Tamil Nadu reports 6,986 new COVID-19 cases and 85 deaths today. The total number of positive cases in the state stands at 2,13,723 including 1,56,526 recoveries and 3,494 deaths. There are 53,703 active cases as of today," said a statement issued by the State Health Department. India’s COVID-19 Tally Inches Closer Towards 14-Lakh Mark With a Spike of 48,661 New Coronavirus Cases, Death Toll Rises to 32,063.

"927 new COVID-19 positive cases have been reported in Kerala today. There are 9,655 active cases and 9,302 patients have recovered till date," said Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The upsurge in cases in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka has also continued over the past two weeks, with the three states reportedly coordinating with the Centre to control the pace of infection.

The total count of cases in Karnataka, as per the last update, stood at 90,071. In Andhra Pradesh, the tally stood at 86.781, followed by 56,466 cases in Telangana. In Puducherry, the authorities are expecting overall caseload to jump to nearly 6,000 by end of the month.

Nationwide, the number of COVID-19 infections moved closer to the 14 lakh-mark, with more than 48,000 cases being recorded in the last 24 hours. The death toll surged by 705, to reach 32,063. The recovery rate hovers at around 64 percent, lower than most of the nations across the world.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 26, 2020 06:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).