Chennai, July 2: Even as the COVID-19 tally nears 1 lakh, the state government in Tamil Nadu categorically denied entering into the community transmission stage of the pandemic. The AIADMK government's clarification came in aftermath of the Opposition DMK demanding the Chief Minister to clarify whether the disease has entered into its next stage. COVID-19 Tests in India to Soon Touch 1 Crore Mark, Government Allows All Doctors to Recommend Coronavirus Testing.

"I would like to answer the opposition leader MK Stalin's question. There is no community transmission in the state, if it happens it will be announced by the Indian Council of Medical Research," said C Vijayabaskar, Tamil Nadu Health Minister.

Community transmission stage is referred to as the third phase of COVID-19 pandemic, where the source of infection could not be traced among new patients. In other words, the disease at this stage has transmitted to a larger section of the population and no longer restricted to foreign returnees and those who came into contact with them.

COVID-19 Tally in Tamil Nadu

57 deaths and 4343 new cases of #COVID19 reported in the state today, taking the total number of positive cases in the state to 98,392: Tamil Nadu Health Department pic.twitter.com/uxEvpoxlPA

— ANI (@ANI) July 2, 2020

The number of coronavirus cases in Tamil Nadu stood at 98,392, with 57 deaths and 4,343 new cases reported on Thursday. The state is expected to cross the one lakh-mark within the next 24 hours.

After Maharashtra - which has recorded 1.80 lakh cases - Tamil Nadu is the most severely hit state in India due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Delhi, which had surged ahead of Tamil Nadu, succeeded in slowing down the rate of infection over the past week. The caseload in the national capital stood at 89,802 as per the last update.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 02, 2020 07:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).