Kerala reported 24 new COVID-19 cases and one death on Thursday, taking the number of active cases to 176.
A 73-year-old woman, who had been undergoing treatment for COVID-19, died at a hospital in Thrissur's Chavakkad, making Kerala's fifth casualty due to the virus. She was undergoing treatment for COVID-related comorbidities. Based in Mumbai, she returned to Kerala on May 19.
Five of the new cases were reported from Malappuram and four from Kannur. Kottayam and Thrissur districts reported three cases each. Two cases each were reported from Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Alappuzha and one case each from Idukki, Palakkad and Kasaragod, according to a statement from the state health department.
Fourteen infected persons came from abroad (UAE - 8, Kuwait – 4, Qatar – 1, Malaysia – 1). The remaining 10 came from other states (Maharashtra – 5, Tamil Nadu – 3, Gujarat – 1, Andhra Pradesh – 1).
In Malappuram, a 24-year-old woman from Koottilangadi who came from Abu Dhabi, a 21-year-old youth from Edakkaparamabu who came from Kuala Lumpur and a 59-year-old man from Randathani who returned from Kuwait, a 50-year-old from Thennala and a 45-year-old from Tharayail who came from Mumbai were tested positive on Thursday.
All the three infected people in Kottayam district came from abroad. A 31-year-old from Neendoor came from Kuwait on May 9 and the others came from Dubai on May 11. Those who came from Dubai are an 83-year-old woman from Manganam and a 42-year-old man from Thrikkodithanam near Changanassery.
Meanwhile, the test results of a two-year-old, who had been under treatment in Kottayam, has returned negative. Currently, seven people are undergoing treatment in the district, including a Thiruvananthapuram native who had returned from Maharashtra.
In Thrissur, all three infected persons - a 34-year-old from Puthukkad, 55-year-old from Velupadam and a 31-year-old from Mala - came from Abu Dhabi on May 17.
In Kasaragod, a Chenkala native who came from Dubai on May 18 has been tested positive. He is being treated at the Government Medical College Hospital in Pariyaram.
The infected person in Palakkad is a 64-year-old man hailing from Kodumunda, Pattambi. He returned from Chennai on May 17.
There are 21 active cases, including two from Malappuram and Thrissur, in Palakkad. Two Palakkad natives are undergoing treatment in Ernakulam.
In Idukki, a 23-year-old Santhanapara native tested positive on Thursday. He had returned from Mumbai on May 12 and had been under home quarantine ever since. There are two active cases in the district now.
Two new cases were reported in Alappuzha on Thursday. One of them, a 60-year-old Mavelikkara native had returned from Kuwait on May 9. He was first admitted to the Ernakulam Medical College with COVID-19 symptoms but later shifted to the COVID Care Centre in Alappuzha after getting better.
The second patient had returned from Chennai on May 13 on a private vehicle and had been under home quarantine. Both of them were admitted to the Alappuzha Medical College.
Currently, the district has seven active patients including a person admitted to the Manjeri Medical College.
Eight patients recovered on Thursday. Five of them are from Wayanad, including a Malappuram native.
One patient each in Kottayam, Ernakulam, and Kozhikode have also recovered. The patient recovered in Ernakulam is a Malappuram native. So far, 510 COVID patients have recovered in the state.
The patient recovered in Kozhikode on Thursday is a 78-year-old native of Parakkadavu, Nadapuram. He had returned from Dubai on May 7 and had been quarantined at NIT hostel. He was admitted to the Kozhikode Medical College on May 16 following symptoms. So far 25 patients have recovered in the district. There are 14 active cases including three from Kasaragod, Kannur and Malappuram.
The number of people returned from abroad and other states stands at 78,096. Of them, 5,495 people came by flights, 1,621 by ships, 68,844 by road and 2,136 by trains.
Three more regions were designated as COVID hotspots on Thursday. They are Thrikkadeeri and Sreekrishnapuram in Palakkad district and Dharmadom in Kannur. Eight places have been struck off from the list of hotspots. There are 28 hotspots in the state now.
Of the 80,138 people under observation for suspected infection, 79,611 are home/institutional quarantined and 527 hospitalised.
As many as 153 people were hospitalised on Thursday.
Of the 49,833 samples sent for tests, 48,276 have turned negative.
Samples of 6,540 people among priority groups were tested as part of sentinel surveillance.
Of them, 1,798 have turned negative. In the past 24 hours, 1,798 samples were tested.