The COVID-19 death toll in Kerala crossed the 2500 mark with reporting of 35 recent fatalities. The state on Wednesday reported 4,875 new positive cases and 35 COVID-19 related deaths, taking the caseload in the state to 6,49,571 and the death toll to 2,507. State health minister K K Shailaja said currently there are 59,923 active cases. "The state has tested 52,655 samples in the last 24 hours and the test positivity rate is 9.26 per cent," the minister said in a release.
A total of 67,55,630 samples have been sent for testing till now, she said. The test positivity rate (TPR) in the state stood at 9.26% on Wednesday. The TPR had stood around 10% in November. The TPR at 9.26% could be an indication of a declining trend, a steady phase in the disease transmission levels, but without showing signs of relenting, reports the Hindu.
The minister said 4,230 people including 43 healthcare workers were infected through contact while the contact source of infection for 508 people was not known. According to the release, 94 of those diagnosed with the disease are from outside the state.
"At the same time, 4,647 patients have recovered from the disease. A total of 5,86,998 have so far recovered from the disease in the state," the minister said.
The district-wise figures for the new cases are: Ernakulam 717, Malappuram 709, Kozhikode 656, Thrissur 511, Kottayam 497, Palakkad 343, Pathanamthitta 254, Kannur 251, Wayanad 241, Kollam 212, Alappuzha 194, Thiruvananthapuram 181, Idukki 57 and Kasaragod 52.
"There are 3,09,935 people now under isolation across the state with 14,164 in isolation wards of various hospitals," the release said.
One place each in Alappuzha, Idukki and Palakkad districts (total three) were declared as hotspots even as four areas were exempted. Presently, there are 440 hotspots in Kerala.
With PTI Inputs