Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala's COVID-19 case count reached 2,34,928 on Monday, with the state reporting 5,042 fresh cases. The state also registered 4,640 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

So far, 1,49,111 people recovered from the disease, while 84,873 patients are still under treatment in various hospitals across the state, Health Minister K K Shailaja said in a statement.

Local transmission of COVID-19 continues unabated as 4,338 of the newly reported cases contracted the virus through contact. Of this, the infection sources of 450 are unknown.

Apart from this, 102 healthcare workers (35 from Kannur, 19 from Ernakulam, 18 from Thiruvananthapuram, 10 from Kozhikode, 6 from Thrissur, five each from Kollam and Malappuram, three each from Pathanamthitta and Palakkad, two each from Wayanad and Kasaragod, one each from Alappuzha and Kottayam) also contracted the virus. 13 Indian Naval Hospital Ship (INHS) employees in Ernakulam also tested positive.

Of the 5,042 new COVID-19 cases, 29 people came from abroad, while 102 people came from other states.

The minister also confirmed 23 more deaths on Monday. The official death toll now stands at 859.

District-wise break-up of today's positive cases:

Ernakulam – 705 (contact cases - 587)

Thiruvananthapuram – 700 (532)

Kozhikode – 641 (609)

Malappuram – 606 (545)

Kollam – 458 (451)

Thrissur – 425 (413)

Kottayam – 354 (348)

Kannur – 339 (212)

Palakkad – 281 (188)

Kasaragod – 207 (187)

Alappuzha – 199 (194)

Idukki – 71 (36)

Wayanad – 31 (24)

Pathanamthitta – 25 (12 )

District-wise break-up of recoveries:

Thiruvananthapuram – 910

Kollam – 283

Pathanamthitta – 102

Alappuzha – 387

Kottayam – 400

Idukki – 61

Ernakulam – 236

Thrissur – 285

Palakkad – 327

Malappuram – 757

Kozhikode – 507

Wayanad – 90

Kannur – 130

Kasaragod – 165

Testing and quarantine

In the last 24 hours, 38,696 samples have been tested, a health department statement said on Monday.

In total, 31,98,423 samples (including routine, airport surveillance, pooled sentinel, CBNAAT, TrueNAT, CLIA and antigen assay) were sent for testing. As many as 2,08,481 samples also collected as part of sentinel surveillance.

Of the 2,58,446 people under observation for suspected infection, 2,27,942 are home/institutional quarantined and 30,504 hospitalised. As many as 2,964 people were hospitalised since Sunday.

Four new places were designated as hotspots on Monday, while seven regions were excluded from the list. The state presently has 722 hotspots.