Covid-19: 1,078 more test positive in Kerala, 856 infected by contact, five deaths

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The number of active Covid-19 cases in the state is nearing 10,000, with 1,078 more people testing positive for the virus on Thursday. The active cases rose to 9,458 as the state reported over 1,000 cases for the second consecutive day.
Of the new cases, 856 are contact cases while 104 people came from abroad and 115 from other states. The total cases reported so far is 16,110.
Five more Covid deaths were reported in the state on the day. Raveendran (73) of Parassala in Thiruvananthapuram, Koyutti (57) of Kallayi in Kozhikode, Lakshmi Kunjanpilla (79) of Ernakulam, Rahaniyathu (58) of Kollam and Sadanandan (60) of Kannur are the deceased. The total number of deaths in the state so far is 51, including the Mahe native who died in Kannur in April.
The contact cases reported on Thursday include 32 health workers, 12 fire force, three Indo-Tibetan Border Police, nine Kerala Solvents Extraction Ltd and two KLF personnel.
T’puram tops in contact cases
Thiruvananthapuram (206) had the maximum contact cases, followed by Kollam 103, Ernakulam 98, Kozhikode 56, Kottayam 52, Idukki 49, Alappuzha 46, Kasaragod 41, Thrissur and Palakkad 40 each, Malappuram 29, Pathanamthitta 24, Kannur 12 and Wayanad three. Of the new cases, 222 are in Thiruvananthapuram, 106 in Kollam, 100 in Ernakulam, 89 in Malappuram, 83 in Thrissur, 82 in Alappuzha, 80 in Kottayam, 67 in Kozhikode, 63 in Idukki, 51 each in Palakkad and Kannur, 47 in Kasaragod, 27 in Pathanamthitta and 10 in Wayanad. A total of 432 patients recovered from the infection on Thursday.
As many as 1,58,117 persons are under surveillance, of whom 1,48,763 are under home/ institutional quarantine and 9,354 admitted to designated isolation facilities.
In the last 24 hours, 22,433 samples were collected for tests. Till date, 3,28,940 samples (including repeat, augmented and private lab samples) have been sent for tests, of which results of 9,159 are pending. Besides, 1,02,687 of the total 1,07,066 samples collected as part of sentinel surveillance tested negative.
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the situation in the state capital continued to be a matter of concern. "Corporation councillors and people’s representatives are being tested positive or quarantined. It is a matter of concern. People's leaders should take more safety precautions," he said.
The state could control the spread with lockdown in the first two phases but the situation has changed since May and now there is rapid increase in the caseload. "The coming weeks are going to be crucial. The precautions we take now will have their effect in the coming weeks," he said.