Kerala reported 42,464 new COVID cases and 27,152 recoveries on Thursday.
With this, the number of active COVID cases in the state rose to 3,90,906.
So far, 13,89,515 have been cured of the virus.
Of the new cases, 39,496 contracted the virus through contact while 265 came from outside the state and 124 are healthcare workers.
Twenty are healthcare workers.
A total of 1,55,632 samples were tested in the last 24 hours.
So far, 1,66,16,470 samples have been sent for testing.
The test positivity rate, i.e. the number of people likely to contract the virus in a group of 100, in the state is 27.28.
Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Malappuram districts reported the most cases - 6506, 5700 and 4405 respectively.
Sixty-three COVID deaths too were confirmed on Thursday.
With this, the COVID death toll in the state rose to 5,628.
There are currently 8,18,411 people under observation across the state.
Of them, 7,88,529 are under home or institutional quarantine while 29,882 are in hospitals.
As the virus shows signs of turning even more virulent, the public health system in Kerala is showing clear signs of strain. The ICU beds and ventilators in the four worst-affected districts of Ernakulam, Kozhikode, Malappuram and Thiruvananthapuram.
Ernakulam: The worst affected district has no ICU beds in the government sector. There is no ventilator facility in any of the 37 government-run hospitals in the district. However, there are 205 ICU beds left in the private sector. There are 53 ventilators left in the private sector.
Kozhikode: The district has 102 hospitals in the government sector. There are 77 ICU beds in these hospitals and 37 are now filled. Most of these vacancies, 17, are in the Kozhikode Medical College where there are 34 ICU beds set aside for COVID-19 patients. The newly constructed block under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) in the Medical College has 18 ICU beds, and all of them are unoccupied.
Of the 64 ventilators in the government sector, 29 are left. 14 of them are in Kozhikode Beach General Hospital, and 11 in Government Medical College Kozhikode Medical College.
Malappuram: There are 21 hospitals in the government sector and there are no ICU beds left. All the 72 beds available have been occupied. There are 43 ventilators, and only eight are left now. Six of them are in Manjeri Medical College, which has 35 ventilators. Nilambur and Tirur general hospitals have one ventilator each, and both are unoccupied.
Thiruvananthapuram: In the 78 government hospitals in the capital district, just 4 per cent of ICU beds are left. The Thiruvananthapuram Medical College has the highest number of ICU beds. Now there are just three left.
SAT Hospital has 22 beds, and six are left.
The most number of ventilators are also in the Medical College, 80. Three are left. SAT has nine vacancies, and six are left. Of the total 89 ventilators in the government sector, there are just nine vacancies.
Here's the district-wise break-up of today's cases:
Ernakulam - 6,506 (contact cases - 6,411)
Kozhikode - 5,700 (5,578)
Malappuram - 4,405 (4,181)
Thiruvananthapuram - 3,969 (3,655)
Thrissur - 3,587 (3,556)
Alappuzha - 3,040 (3,029)
Palakkad - 2,950 (1,263)
Kottayam - 2,865 (2,638)
Kollam - 2,513 (2,503)
Kannur - 2,418 (2,199)
Pathanamthitta - 1,341 (1,307)
Kasaragod - 1,158 (1,106)
Wayanad - 1,056 (1,025)
Idukki - 956 (945)
Here's the district-wise break-up of today's recoveries:
Kozhikode - 3996
Malappuram - 3205
Kottayam - 3013
Ernakulam -2999
Palakkad - 2488
Thiruvananthapuram - 2389
Kannur - 2083
Kollam -2035
Alappuzha - 1923
Thrissur - 1519
Pathanamthitta - 903
Idukki - 228
Kasaragod - 189
Wayanad - 182
