Chennai, Jul 26 (IANS): As many as 6,986 persons tested positive for coronavirus in Tamil Nadu in the past 24 hours, the state Health Department said on Sunday.

In a statement issued here, the department said that 6,986 persons tested Covid-19 positive in the state in the last 24 hours, taking Tamil Nadu's tally to 213,723.

A total of 64,129 swab samples were tested in the last 24 hours and the total tally of such tests as on date stands at 23,51,463.

As many as 5,471 persons were discharged from various hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cured patients to 156,526.

The number of active Covid-19 cases in the state after taking into account the cured and the deceased stands at 53,703.

Chennai continues to head the Covid-19 tally in the state with 1,155 persons testing positive for the virus in the last 24 hours, taking the total tally to 94,695. The active cases in the city stand at 13,744 while the number of patients discharged stands at 1,315.