The number of coronavirus infections reported from Kerala inched closer to the 6 lakh-mark with 6,250 new cases being reported on Saturday. However, the test positivity rate dropped below 10 again (at 9.77) giving slight relief.
Of the new cases, 5,474 had contracted the virus through contact while 92 had come from outside the state. Among the contact cases, the source of infection of 628 is yet to be traced.
The state also reported 5,275 recoveries in 24 hours, according to a press release from the health ministry.
With this, the number of active cases in the state reached 64,834. The state has reported 5,93,957 COVID-19 infections so far. Of this, 5,26,797 made recovery.
25 more COVID deaths
Twenty-five COVID deaths too were confirmed. With this, COVID death toll rises to 2,196.
Though more deaths were reported, the state is yet to ascertain them as COVID deaths. Tests are underway at the National Institute of Virology in Alappuzha.
Here's the break-up of today's positive cases:
Ernakulam- 812 (602 through contact)
Kozhikode- 714 (665)
Malappuram- 680 (653)
Thrissur- 647 (636)
Kottayam- 629 (623)
Palakkad- 491 (293)
Thiruvananthapuram- 488 (375)
Kollam- 458 (454)
Kannur- 315 (268)
Alappuzha- 309 (303)
Wayanad- 251 (237)
Idukki- 178 (144)
Pathanamthitta- 141 (100)
Kasaragod- 137 (121)
Recoveries:
Thiruvananthapuram- 365
Kollam- 298
Pathanamthitta- 146
Alappuzha- 231
Kottayam- 512
Idukki- 110
Ernakulam- 451
Thrissur- 405
Palakkad- 379
Malappuram- 766
Kozhikode- 1187
Wayanad- 145
Kannur- 179
Kasaragod- 101
Fifty-nine healthworkers too contracted the virus on the day.
They include 10 from Thiruvananthapuram, 9 from Kannur, 8 from Kozhikode, 7 from Kasaragod, 5 from pathanamthitta, 4 each from Ernakulam and Palakkad, 3 each from Thrissur and Malappuram, 1 each from Kollam, Alappuzha and Wayanad.
Testing and Quarantine
In the last 24 hours, 63,983 samples have been tested. In total, 61,78,012 samples (including routine, airport surveillance, pooled sentinel, CBNAAT, TrueNAT, CLIA and antigen assay) were sent for testing.
A total of 3,12,251 people are under observation across the state. Of them, 2,96,223 are under home or institutional quarantine while 16,028 are in hospital. A total of 1,701 people were admitted in hospitals on Saturday.
Six regions have been designated as hotspots while two were removed from the list. The total number of hotspots is at 530 in the state now.
