Kerala on Tuesday recorded 4,125 COVID-19 cases taking the tally closer towards the 1.50 lakh mark. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has blamed violent protests by the Opposition Congress led United Democratic Front and BJP outfits’ for having contributed to the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, the toll climbed to 574 with 19 more deaths.
Presently, 40,382 people are under treatment, 3,463 were infected through contact and the source of infection of 412 people was not yet known, Pinarayi said in his COVID-19 briefing in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.
As many as 1,01,731 people have so far recovered from the virus and the total infection count in the state has touched 1,42,756, he said.
Of the positive cases on Tuesday, 33 came from abroad and 122 from other states.
In the last 24 hours, 38,574 samples were sent for testing. A total of 3,007 people recovered on Tuesday, Pinarayi said. The deceased on Tuesday were aged between 30 and 86.
Pointing out that the COVID situation in the state was grim, the CM said the spread of the infection was "extremely severe" in Thiruvananthapuram, where 681 cases were detected on Tuesday.
Though the cases were rising, the government had no plans to go in for lockdown again, he said.
"Till yesterday, the state's active cases was 39,258, of which Thiruvananthapuram accounted for 7,047, about 18%, while the death count yesterday was 553 and 175 deaths were from the capital district, that is about 32%.”
In this situation, the opposition parties were staging violent protests on a daily basis instead of maintaining physical distancing, Pinarayi said, adding that he wanted political parties to behave responsibly and follow COVID protocol while protesting.
The Congress led UDF and BJP outfits have been on the warpath ever since Higher Education minister K T Jaleel was questioned by central agencies over the gold smuggling scam and the alleged FCRA violation in accepting Quran brought from UAE for distribution as charity during Ramzan.
Malappuram reported 431 cases, Ernakulam 379, Alappuzha 365, Kozhikode 383, Thrissur 352 and Kollam 341 on Tuesday.
Eighty-seven health workers were among those who tested positive on Tuesday.
At least 2,20,270 people are under observation, including 25,782 in hospitals, the Chief Minister said.
In the last 24 hours, 38,574 samples were tested and so far 24,92,757 samples have been sent for testing, including samples from priority groups as part of 'Sentinel Surveillance.'
This surveillance is to understand whether there is any presence of the virus in the community and to test people with no travel history and symptoms.