People wait at a private laboratory in Chennai for their turn to give swab samples for a coronavirus test
As Covid cases continue to surge in Tamil Nadu, the data in the daily bulletins put out by the state health department is riddled with inconsistencies and constant mismatch in numbers.
On June 17, there were 61 fresh Covid-19 cases in Cuddalore, according to the district health officials. But when the daily bulletin issued by the state government came later that evening, the district had 77 Covid-19 positive cases against its name. The next day, there were 13 fresh cases as per the district health department and 17 new cases according to the state health department.
In Coimbatore, it was the opposite – the number of fresh cases was fewer in the state health department bulletin