For the second consecutive day, over 100 cases of COVID-19 were reported in Kerala on Saturday. The latest number of confirmed cases is 108, three less than the previous day's 111. The tally of confirmed cases in the state rose to 1,807.
For the first time, the number of active cases in the state crossed the 1000-mark. There are 1,029 COVID patients undergoing treatment in the state. The highest number of active cases during the peak of the second wave of infection, before the influx of returnees from abroad and other states began, was 266 on April 6.
Meanwhile, a Tamilnadu native who was declared positive yesterday from Palakkad has absconded, according to the health department's daily bulletin.
District-wise split-up of Saturday's cases is as follows:
Kollam – 19
Thrissur – 16
Kannur – 12
Malappuram – 12
Palakkad – 11
Kasaragod – 10
Pathanamthitta – 9
Alappuzha – 4
Kozhikode – 4
Ernakulam – 3
Thiruvananthapuram – 3
Idukki – 3
Kottayam – 2
Sixty-four of them are returnees from abroad (UAE – 28, Kuwait – 14, Tajikistan – 13, Saudi Arabia – 4, Nigeria – 3, Oman – 1, Ireland – 1). Thirty-four came from other states (Maharashtra – 15, Delhi – 8, Tamil Nadu – 5, Gujarat – 4, Madhya Pradesh – 1, Andhra Pradesh – 1). Ten contracted the virus through contacts. Seven of them are in Palakkad, two in Malappuram and one in Thrissur.
The death toll in the state rose to 16 as former Santosh Trophy footballer, E Hamza Koya, who had tested positive for COVID-19, died earlier in the day.
The state also reported the highest number of a single-day recovery during the third wave on Saturday as 50 patients tested negative. The total number of recoveries stands at 762.
District-wise data of those tested negative:
Palakkad – 30
Kozhikode – 7
Ernakulam – 6
Kannur – 5
Idukki – 1
Kasaragod – 1
Of the seven recoveries in Palakkad, six are staff of national carrier Air India.
Of the 1,83,097 people under observation for suspected infection, 1,81,482 are home/institutional quarantined and 1,615 hospitalised.
As many as 284 people were hospitalised on Sunday.
Of the 81,517 samples sent for tests, 77,517 have turned negative. Samples of 20,769 people among priority groups were tested as part of sentinel surveillance. Of them, 19,597 have turned negative. In the past 24 hours, 3,903 samples were sent for tests. The state has conducted a total of 1,07,796 tests, including repeat samples, so far.
There are 138 hotspots in the state. Newly designated hotspots are Puthupariyaram, Kannadi, Vandazhi, Vadakkanchery, Pookkottukavu, Thenkara, Pirayiri and Kollengode in Palakkad district, Neendakara in Kollam and Olavanna in Kozhikode.
11 students in Kollam test positive
Kollam, which was the last district to report a case during the second wave, is now among those with over 100 confirmed cases. Of the 109 confirmed cases in Kollam, there are 83 active cases.
Kollam has the highest number of positive cases reported on Saturday – 19. All of them are returnees from abroad. They include 11 students who came back from Tajikistan, seven from the Gulf and one from Nigeria.
A happy news from Kollam is the recovery of the youngest COVID-19 patient in the state. The newborn baby who was admitted to Parippally medical college has been discharged.
With 16 cases, Thrissur reported the second highest number of cases. All but one of them returned from abroad or other states. One contracted the disease through contact. The patients include five members of a family – a 40-year-old woman, her daughter, 14, and sons aged 11, 6, and 3. The Irinjalakuda natives returned from Bahrain on May 27.
With 172 cases, Palakkad now has the highest number of active cases. Of the 11 cases reported on Saturday, five contracted the virus through contacts with infected people. All the five are staff of the district hospital.
Ten more COVID cases were reported in Kasaragod while one tested negative. All of them are returnees. The district now has 111 active cases.
Idukki, the district with the least number of cases (24), reported three more cases. They are returnees from Sharjah, Dubai and Ireland. All the three were asymptomatic. Neighbouring Kottayam reported two more cases – one returnee from Mumbai and other from Delhi. The district has 29 active cases.
