On the highest single-day spike ever, 7,006 patients tested positive for the coronavirus in Kerala on Saturday. Among them, 6,004 cases turned positive through local transmission. The highest number of cases were reported from Thiruvananthapuram district, at 1,050. Among them, 1,024 cases are via local transmission. Malappuram reported the second-highest number of COVID-19 patients at 826. This was followed by Ernakulam (724), Kozhikode (684), Thrissur (594), Palakkad (547), Kannur (435), Alappuzha (414), Kottayam (389), Pathanamthitta (329), Kasaragod (224), Idukki (107) and Wayanad (89).
Twenty one people died due to the coronavirus in the state on Saturday. So far, Kerala has reported 657 deaths. Although more deaths were reported on Saturday, it is yet to be confirmed if they are due to COVID-19.
Among the confirmed cases on Saturday, 68 patients had returned from abroad, 177 patients had a travel history to other states. Source of contact in 664 cases was not traceable. Ninety three health workers have also been diagnosed with COVID-19.
A total of 3,199 patients recovered from COVID-19 on Saturday. Currently there are 52,678 patients under treatment for the disease. Thiruvananthapuram has the highest number of active cases, at 9,415, while Wayanad has the lowest with 699 patients. A total of 27,883 patients are in quarantine at hospitals with suspected symptoms. These include the 3,446 people admitted on Saturday with symptoms.
As many as 58,779 samples were tested on Saturday. A total of 27,17,040 samples have been tested in Kerala so far, including routine sample, airport surveillance, antigen assessment, pooled sentinel, CB NAAT, TrueNat tests. Among the samples tested, 1,67,939 have turned positive. More than 2,00,971 people were tested so far as part of sentinel surveillance. This includes migrant workers, health workers and who have high chances of local transmission.
Nineteen new hotspots were announced by the state government on Saturday. With this, there are 652 hotspots in the state. While 68% COVID-19 patients have recovered and 32% are currently under treatment, the death rate stands at 0.38%.