Kerala's latest COVID-19 figures – 195 fresh cases on Saturday – have all the elements to unshackle the complacent attitude of those who assume that the state is out of danger. This is the highest single day spike of COVID-19 cases in the state. The state has been reporting 100-plus cases for the past nine days, but this is the first time the tally came near the 200-mark. The previous highest was June 23rd's 152.
Of Saturday's 195 cases, 15 are contact cases. Of them, five cases in Malappuram district were detected through the sentinel surveillance system – a very disturbing trend indeed.
This week alone, the state confirmed 1,032 COVID cases. It was 632 in the previous week.
Among the news cases, 118 had come from abroad. More than half of them came from Kuwait (62). The others are from UAE - 26, Saudi Arabia - 8, Oman - 8, Qatar - 6, Bahrain 5, Kazakhstan 2, Egypt 1.
Sixty-two have come from other states: Tamil Nadu-19, Delhi-13, Maharashtra-11, Karnataka-10, West Bengal-3, Madhya Pradesh-3, Telangana-1, Andhra Pradesh-1 and Jammu & Kashmir-1.
Fifteen contracted the disease through contact. Of them, 10 are from Malappuram, two from Kollam and one each from Ernakulam, Thrissur and Kannur districts.
The state has reported 4,071 COVID-19 cases so far, out of which 2,108 persons have recovered. The remaining 1,939 patients are being treated in various hospitals.
Here's the district-wise break-up of today's cases:
Malappuram - 47
Palakkad - 25
Thrissur - 22
Kottayam - 15
Ernakulam - 14
Alappuzha - 13
Kollam - 12
Kannur - 11
Kasaragod - 11
Kozhikode - 8
Pathanamthitta - 6
Wayanad - 5
Thiruvananthapuram - 4
Idukki - 2
District-wise break-up of today's recoveries:
Malappuram - 22 (Palakkad - 2, Idukki - 1)
Pathanamthitta - 17
Kannur - 15 (Palakkad - 1, Thrissur - 1)
Kollam - 14
Kottayam - 7
Thrissur - 6
Alappuzha - 5
Kasaragod - 5
Thiruvananthapuram - 4 (Alappuzha - 1)
Idukki- 4
Palakkad - 2
Ernakulam - 1 (Kollam - 1)
Of the 47 cases reported in Malappuram, 21 are returnees from abroad and 16 from other states. Ten patients have contracted the disease through contact.
Those who contracted the disease after coming to contact with patients who had tested positive earlier include a 32-year-old man from Iringattiri, Karuvarakund, a 44-year-old woman of Chungathara, Chengattoor, a 39-year-old man from Edakkara, Palemad, and a 36-year-old Nilambur native. While the Nilambur native contracted the virus from an airport staffer who tested positive in Kozhikode, the remaining people have a history of coming in contact with those who have tested positive in their own places.
Five natives of Vattamkulam – two men aged 39 and 23 and three women aged 50, 33 and 32 – tested positive as their samples were tested as part of sentinel surveillance.
A 26-year-old native of Pulpatta who returned from Kannur via Vadakara on June 14 has also tested positive.
The returnees from other states who tested positive include four natives of Velliyanchery, Edappatta, who returned from Chennai on June 13 together.
Of the 25 cases in Palakkad, 15 are returnees from abroad and 10 from other states. Four of them belong to a family at Pariyanampatta, Pookkottukav, who returned from Tamil Nadu.
Of the 22 cases in Thrissur, 14 are returnees from abroad and seven from other states. One contracted the disease through contact. She is a 38-year-old woman at Pazhanji. Her husband, who works at the Jew Street in Ernakulam's Mattanchery, had tested positive earlier.
Fifteen cases were confirmed in Kottayam – 11 from abroad and four from other states. The patients include a 40-year-old native of Karukachal and her 19-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son. They had returned from Delhi on June 12. The woman's sister, who also came back with her, had tested positive earlier. The results of her third child is awaited. All of them had been home quarantined.
Ernakulam reported 14 cases. Of them, eight are returnees from abroad and two from other states. Three relatives of a 14-year-old boy of Parakkadav, who tested positive on Friday, have also contracted the disease. A 20-year-old native of Chelakkara in Thrissur, who works as a drier in a private firm in Ernakulam, also tested positive. His source of infection has not been found.
Kannur also reported a contact case. A 26-year-old native of Eranjoli contracted the virus through contact. His source of infection has not been identified. The district reported 11 cases -- eight from abroad and two from other states.
A total of 1,67,978 people are under observation in various districts. Of these, 1,65,515 are under home-quarantine and 2,463 are in hospitals. A total of 281 people were admitted in hospitals on Saturday. So far, 2,15,243 individuals (including the augmented sample) have been sent for testing. The results of 4, 032 tests are awaited.
In addition, as part of Sentinel Surveillance, 44,129 samples were collected from priority groups, such as health workers, guest workers, social contacts. Of them, 42,411 have returned negative.
One more region have been converted into hot spots - Parali (Containment Zone: All Wards) in Palakkad district. Four regions were excluded from the list. There are currently 111 hot spots in the state.
Four regions were excluded from hotspots list: Mallapuzhassery (containment zone ward 5) in Pathanamthitta District, Thennala (wards 1-6, 10, 12-17) in Malappuram District, Engandiyoor (wards 2, 3, 4) and Chavakkad Municipality (3, 4, 8, 19, 20, 29, 30) in Thrissur district.
