COVID-19 cases continued on an upward spiral in Kerala with 40 more testing positive for the disease on Wednesday.

All except three cases were detected in expatriates and non-resident Keralites (NoRKs). Of the new cases, nine persons had come from abroad while 28 were from other States. Three persons are believed to have contracted the disease from the community through ‘contact’ with unknown sources of infection. Kasaragod accounted for 10 cases, Palakkad eight, Alappuzha seven, Kollam four, Pathanamthitta three, Wayanad three, Ernakulam two, Kozhikode two, and Kannur accounted for one. Ten patients were also reported to have recovered. Currently, 445 patients are undergoing treatment. Of the 1,003 COVID-19 cases reported by the State so far, 542 have recovered. The State has 1,07,832 persons under surveillance, of whom, 1,06,940 are in quarantine and 892 under observation in hospitals.

Mild symptoms

On Wednesday alone, 229 persons with mild symptoms were admitted in hospitals. The State has tested 58,866 samples so far, of which 56,558 samples have returned a negative result. As part of sentinel surveillance, 9,095 samples have been tested so far, of which 8,541 have been negative. The State has 81 hotspots now, with the addition of 13 new regions on Wednesday. These include 10 regions in Palakkad district and three in Thiruvananthapuram.

In his daily briefing, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the public should become the warriors against COVID-19. Violation of home quarantine would upstage all of State’s strategies.

Mr. Vijayan said everyone should observe next Sunday as a total sanitation day and devote the day to cleaning own houses and premises. Local bodies should take over the total cleaning of public places on Sunday.