CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu's Covid-19 positive cases continued going north on Thursday, with the state recording century-plus infections for a third straight day, as the capital city continued registering the bulk of patients.

As the second leg of the national lockdown nears its end in another three days, a medical panel constituted by the state government said a complete relaxation of the curbs was not possible and only a graded exit could do.

With Chennai topping the number of new cases of the deadly virus, a top civic official revealed 98 percent of them were asymptomatic, even as the Chennai Corporation wanted all government and privately run school buildings to be handed over to it by May 2 to take up preventive measures.

On Thursday, as many as 161 fresh cases, the highest for a single day so far, were reported from the state, taking the total to 2,323 infections, the Health department said.

Of the new cases, 138 were from Chennai, while 10 other districts reported cases in single digits.

As many as 26 of the 37 districts in the state recorded no new patients today.

A two-month old girl and an 81-year old man, both from the city, were among those who tested positive on Thursday.

A total of 1,258 people have been discharged in the state after treatment, with Chennai topping the table over number of recoveries, a health department bulletin said.