Daily COVID-19 cases in Kerala dropped below 1,000 on Sunday, March 13, with the state recording 885 fresh infections which raised the total caseload to 65,21,098 in the state. The state also reported 15 deaths which took the toll to 66,808, according to a release. On August 3, 2020, the state had recorded 962 COVID-19 cases.
Of the deaths, 2 were reported in the last 24 hours, 4 were those which occurred in the last few days but were not recorded due to late receipt of documents and 9 were designated as COVID-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court, the release said. With 1,554 more people recovering from the virus since Saturday, the total recoveries in the state reached 64,44,624 and the active cases dropped to 8,846, the release said. As many as 21,188 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, and the positivity rate stood at 4.17%.
Among the 14 districts, Thiruvananthapuram recorded the highest with 131 cases, followed by Ernakulam 122 and Kottayam 88, the release said.
Of the new cases, 14 were health workers, 4 from outside the state and 826 infected through contact with the source of it not being clear in 41, the release said.
There are currently 25,685 people under surveillance in various districts, of whom 24,766 are in home or institutional quarantine and 919 in hospitals, the release said.
State Health Minister Veena George said that people must keep their guard up and the aim is to make the state free of COVID-19 cases. She added that people must be vigilant and mask mandates must be followed.