In continued spike in COVID-19 cases in Kerala on Tuesday, 67 persons tested positive for the disease.

While 60 cases were detected in expatriates and Non-Resident Keralites from other parts of the country who had returned to their home State, seven cases were indigenous infections with unknown sources.

Of the 60 imported cases, 27 were people who had returned from abroad and the rest were persons who had come from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka, Delhi and Pondycherry.

Of the seven cases of contacts, four are in Kannur, two in Palakkad and one case is in Kottayam.

Of the new cases, 29 are in Palakkad, eight in Kannur, six in Kottayam, five each in Ernakulam and Malappuram, four each in Kollam and Thrissur, and three each in Alappuzha and Kasaragod.

The State recorded the recovery of 10 persons on Tuesday.

The total number of persons currently undergoing treatment in the State is 415. Of the total of 963 cases reported so far, 542 have recovered. There have been six deaths.

The State also put over-a-lakh people on quarantine. Of the 1,04,336 persons under surveillance, 1,03,528 persons are on home or institutional quarantine. while 808 persons have been admitted for observation in hospitals.

Kerala has so far tested 56,704 persons for COVID-19, of whom, 54,836 have been negative. As part of the sentinel surveillance, another 8,599 random samples from the community too have been tested, of which 8,174 have been negative.

Nine more regions in Kannur, Palakkad, Kottayam and Idukki have been designated as hotspots, taking the total number of hotspots in the State to 68.

CM calls for more vigil

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that violation of home quarantine and other safety protocols by the public could make community transmission a reality and that more vigil should be maintained.