Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala recorded 43,529 COVID-19 cases, the highest daily tally so far, on Wednesday, pushing the total cases to 20,10,934.
With 95 deaths being reported on Wednesday, the state's death toll has risen to 6,053.
As many as 34,600 people were cured of the infection, taking the total recoveries to 15,71,738.
The active cases touched 4,32,789, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said during his customary sunset briefing.
In the last 24 hour, 1,46,320 samples were tested and the test positivity rate was 29.75 per cent.
With 95 deaths being reported on Wednesday, the state's death toll has risen to 6,053.
Of the positive cases, 145 were health workers, while 241 had come from outside the state and 40,133 infected through contact. The source of infection of 3,010 among them is unknown.
No UK returnee has tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours.
Will the lockdown be extended?
After reading out the worst ever daily numbers, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wedensday said that the COVID situation in Kerala did not provide any relief. Still, he said a decision on whether to extend the lockdown or not could not be made at this point. At the same time, he also hinted that no preparation was required to extend the lockdown.
Perhaps to add some light to a grim reality, Vijayan said that the government's assessment was that the lockdown was beneficial to the state. He said five days were not enough to understand the benefits of the lockdown.
The chief minister also said the directive of Indian Council for medical research (ICMR) on shutting down districts with a test positivity rate of more than 10 percent was applicable at the national level. "So a decision has to be taken by the centre. At this moment, the state government has no information whether such a directive has been given after consultations with the Centre," Vijayan said.
Key points from the CM's press meet:
• CM thanked all the nurses around the world who are fighting the pandemic risking their own lives on the occasion of International Nurses Day.
• He also gave tributes to former minister and communist veteran K R Gouri.
• CM wished all believers across the state a pure and peaceful Eid-ul-Fitr. He also urged people to follow COVID protocols in this celebration times. He urged believers to carry out namaz and celebrate within the safety of their homes.
• As it takes more time for RT-PCR tests, the CM said people can take antigen tests first and only those who get negative results in antigen tests should go for RT-PCR tests.
• Govt have advised KSEB and other departments to be on alert as the state is set to face heavy rains and wind in coming days.
• The vaccines doses the state ordered directly from companies for 18-45 age group will be given to those group only. It's impossible to provide vaccines to all at once.
• Meat shops can function till 10pm in view of Eid.
• Over 1.13 crore people are above 45-years in the state.
• E-pass system is running effectively in the state. People can apply for pass through Kerala Police's mobile app "Pol-App".
• Heavy rain and strong winds likely in state from tonight. All kinds of fishing activity has been banned in the state from midnight. Those who are already out in the seas were asked to reach nearest harbour at the earliest.
• Govt have put SDRF and other emergency departments on standby for any untoward incidents.
• People in hilly areas should be cautious as landslides are likely to occur during heavy rains.
• Low-laying areas may face flood-like situation due to water-logging. Authorities have been told to take necessary precautions in these areas.
• Three people, including the driver, can accompany persons above 75-years on way to hospital.
District-wise breakup of today's positive cases:
Ernakulam 6410 (6247 contact cases)
Malappuram 5388 (5185)
Kozhikode 4418 (4341)
Thiruvananthapuram 4284 (3964)
Thrissur 3994 (3962)
Palakkad 3520 (1428)
Kollam 3350 (3336)
Kottayam 2904 (2744)
Alappuzha 2601 (2596)
Kannur 2346 (2151)
Pathanamthitta 1339 (1285)
Idukki 1305 (1277)
Kasaragod 969 (943)
Wayanad 701 (674)
District-wise breakup of recoveries:
Thiruvananthapuram- 2338
Kollam- 2815
Pathanamthitta- 1264
Alappuzha- 2518
Kottayam- 2171
Idukki- 1287
Ernakulam- 4474
Thrissur- 2319
Palakkad- 3100
Malappuram- 3946
Kozhikode- 5540
Wayanad- 446
Kannur- 1907
Kasaragod- 475
Testing and quarantine
A total of 10,01,647 people are under observation in various districts. Of these, 9,67,211 are under home or institutional quarantine and 34,436 are in hospitals.
3,593 people were admitted in hospitals on Wednesday.
So far, 1,74,18,696 samples (including the augmented sample) have been sent for testing.
On Wednesday, five more regions have been converted into hotspots and 75 have been excluded from the list taking the total number of hotspots to 740 in the state.
