Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases in a single day as 127 people tested positive on Saturday. The state also reported 57 recoveries.
The number of active cases in the state stands at 1,450, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a press meet.
Of the 3,039 people contracted the disease so far, 1,566 have been recovered.
This is the fifth time that the number of new infections crossed the 100-mark. The state reported COVID cases in three digits for the first time on June 5 when 111 cases were confirmed. The next two days reported 108 and 107 cases. The cases crossed 100-mark again on June 19 with 118 testing positive.
The number of recoveries was almost near the number of cases throughout this week. On Wednesday, the number of recoveries (90) was even more than the reported cases (75). Saturday, however, showed a deviation from the trend as the number of recoveries is less than half of the positive cases.
District-wise breakup of positive cases:
Kollam – 24
Palakkad – 23
Pathanamthitta – 17
Kozhikode – 12
Kottayam – 11
Kasaragod – 7
Malappuram – 5
Wayanad – 5
Thiruvananthapuram – 5
Alappuzha – 4
Kannur – 4
Ernakulam – 3
Idukki – 1
Recoveries:
Pathanamthitta – 12
Alappuzha – 12
Kozhikode – 11
Palakkad – 10
Wayanad – 2
Kannur – 2
Kasaragod – 2
Thiruvananthapuram – 2
Kollam – 2
Ernakulam – 1
Malappuram – 1
Of the positive cases, 87 people came from abroad and 36 from other states. Three people contracted the disease through contact. One healthcare worker is among those tested positive.
State-wise split-up: Maharashtra - 15, Delhi - 9, Tamil Nadu - 5, two each from Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, one each from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
Country-wise split-up: Kuwait – 42, Saudi Arabia – 16, UAE – 15, Qatar – 8, Bahrain – 3, Oman, Nigeria and South Africa – 1 each.
Health worker, cop among patients
A female health worker posted at the COVID hospital in Pathanamthitta is among the 17 people who tested positive in the district. She was quarantined after her duty at the COVID ward. Eight people who had come in contact with her while on duty have been put under observation.
An 18-year-old girl at Manacaud in Thiruvananthapuram also contracted the disease through contact. She was in the primary contact list of her father, an auto driver, who tested positive on Friday. The remaining four cases in the district are all returnees from abroad.
The third patient who contracted the disease through contact is a policeman in Ernakulam. The 38-year-old Vengola native had come in contact with a policeman at Kalamassery police station who tested positive on June 18. The 17th ward of Vengola panchayat has been designated as containment zone.
Of the 12 cases in Kozhikode, four belong to a family. An Atholi native woman and her three children who had returned from Kuwait tested positive. The woman's husband had tested positive earlier. A couple of Panangad, who returned from Delhi, have also tested positive.
Eleven cases were confirmed in Kottayam. They include two nurses who had returned from Delhi and were home quarantined at one of their houses at Manimala. The other nurse is from Wayanad.
With the number of cases increasing in Kottayam, the Pala General Hospital has also been included in the list of COVID hospitals in the district. COVID patients will be treated in a separate block without affecting the regular functioning of the hospital.
Presently, 1,39,342 people are under surveillance. Of them, 1,37,306 are under home or institutional quarantine and 2,036 in various hospitals in the state.
Till date 1,33,946 samples, including repeat and private lab samples, have been sent for testing out of which results of 3,193 are pending, the chief minister said.
Three places were designated as hotspots on Saturday, while removing four areas from the list. Presently, there are 111 hotspots in the state.
