Chennai,  Even as the number of active Covid-19 cases in Tamil Nadu dropped below two lakh with the state having reported 1,88,664 cases on Thursday, the number of active coronavirus cases in western Tamil Nadu districts of Coimbatore and Erode is a matter of concern for the state health officials and administration.

On Thursday, the three western districts of the state -- Coimbatore, Erode and Tirupur -- claimed the first three spots in the number of active Covid-19 cases while Chennai occupied fourth place.

Coimbatore with 21,184 active cases recorded the highest number followed by Tirupur with 17,485 and Erode with 13,102 cases. Chennai had 12,210 active cases on Thursday bringing it to fourth place in the number of active cases reported.

Salem, another western district, was fifth in this list with 10,168 active cases.

In the number of new Covid cases, Coimbatore with 2,236 cases and Erode with 1,390 cases were above Chennai with 1,223 cases on Thursday.

Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner, Gagan Singh Bedi, speaking to IANS said, "We had implemented a stringent and effective lockdown and this is the reason for the number of active cases coming down in the metro city."

Madurai and Trichy recorded a lower number of cases leading to the fall in the test positivity rate of the state which came below 10 per cent for the first time in the past 22 days.

Tamil Nadu Minister for Medical and Family Welfare, Ma Subramanian, told IANS, "We have brought down the test positivity rate in the state to below 10 per cent and this is a welcome sign even though the western districts are a matter of concern. Government and Public Health officials are making an all-out effort to curtail the active cases in the western districts of the state and we will achieve success in this."

With the test positivity rates falling below 10 per cent, the availability of the number of oxygen beds has increased in various parts of the state.

However, another matter of concern for the state health authorities is the increase in the number of deaths with the state reporting 358 deaths in the past 24 hours. With this figure, the total number of deaths in the state has touched 28,528, the third largest in the country.