The State reported its highest single-day spike of COVID-19 cases with 127 new cases on Saturday.

However, it is a great relief to the government that even when the number of cases is going up every day, almost all of these are imported cases and those diagnosed are people who are already in quarantine and hence can be monitored.

123 imported cases

On Saturday, 123 out of the 127 new cases were imported cases of infection. Four persons, including one health-care worker, acquired the infection through local transmission, by contact with known/unknown sources of infection.

With 57 recoveries reported, the number of active COVID-19 cases in the State now is 1,450.

Of the 3,039 persons who contracted the infection in the State ever since the outbreak began, 1,566 have recovered so far.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the fact that the State had been able to contain local transmission and seriously limit the number of cases developed through contact was a testament to the successful containment strategies. He claimed that it also indicated that community transmission was not yet a possibility in the State.

Of the 2,413 persons who had tested positive between May 4 and June 19, as many as 2,165 were imported cases.

T.N. report dismissed

He sought to dismiss the fact that over 50 people who had crossed the State borders to Tamil Nadu post lockdown had been tested COVID-19 positive by the Tamil Nadu authorities, indicating that the virus was moving silently in the community.

This figures in the daily bulletin issued by the Tamil Nadu Health authorities. But Mr. Vijayan said the State had not received any official intimation about these cases from Tamil Nadu.

The State currently has 1,39,342 persons under surveillance and in quarantine, of whom 2,036 are isolated in hospitals.

The number of hotspots in the State now is 111.