Karnataka on Friday reported 5,007 new COVID-19 cases and 110 deaths, raising the case total to 85,870 and the death toll to 1,724.
With 2,037 more people discharged, total recoveries stood at 31,347. Of the remaining 52,791 active cases, 611 were in ICUs while others were stable. Tests done over 24 hours touched 29,819, including 7,411 Rapid Antigen Tests.
Bengaluru Urban recorded nearly half of total new cases statewide, at 2,267, and 50 deaths.
RT-PCR test charges
The State government on Friday capped the price for RT-PCR and Rapid Antigen Tests in private labs.
An Order said the rate of RT-PCR testing for samples sent by government to private labs had been reduced from ₹2,250 to ₹2,000, and the ceiling rate for private samples in private labs from ₹4,500 to ₹3,000. The price included screening and confirmatory tests and cost of PPE. Rapid Antigen Tests for private samples in private labs were capped at ₹700 per sample inclusive of PPE.
Andhra Pradesh reported 8,147 new COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day spike thus far, raising the tally to 80,858. Forty-nine persons died and the death toll mounted to 933.
With the discharge of 2,380 patients, recoveries went up to 39,935 and patients in various hospitals were put at 39,990. Also, 48,114 samples were tested in a day.
The new deaths were reported in 10 districts, including East Godavari with 11 deaths, the highest. Krishna reported nine deaths and Kurnool eight, Srikakulam seven and West Godavari five deaths. Guntur and Visakhapatnam had three deaths each and Chittoor, Vizianagaram and Prakasam one death each. East Godavari reported the highest case number at 1,029, followed by Anantapur (984), Kurnool (914), and Visakhapatnam (898).
After registering over 1,000 cases on each of two consecutive days, Kerala breathed a sigh of relief on Friday, when the daily incidence dipped to 885 cases.
On Friday, the number of recoveries was 968. Local transmission continued unabated, with 753 out of the 885 new infections being locally acquired, and 56 had no epidemiological link. Also, 24 health care workers tested positive.
Four deaths were reported, two from Kasaragod and two from Thiruvananthapuram and Alapuzha.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said COVID-19 in care homes and convents in Ernakulam was an emerging issue. A care home at Thrikkakkara had 40 positive cases among 135 occupants.
Mr. Vijayan said no visitors would be allowed to care homes and trips outside by care home officials would have to be restricted.
6,785 persons test positive for COVID-19 in T.N.
For the second consecutive day, Tamil Nadu reported more than 6,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday. Another 6,785 persons tested positive and 88 persons died, and the State’s overall tally was closer to the two lakh-mark. The State’s recovery rate stood at 71% and mortality rate was 1.66%.
Of the total tally of 1,99,749 cases, 53,132 were under treatment. A total of 6,504 persons were discharged on Friday, taking the total number of persons discharged to 1,43,297. The State’s toll rose to 3,320.
Apart from Chennai, 18 districts accounted for over 100 new COVID-19 cases each. Chennai led the table with 1,299 cases, while Virudhunagar recorded 423. Chengalpattu witnessed a surge as 419 persons tested positive.
Among the other northern districts, Tiruvallur recorded 378 cases, Kancheepuram 349 cases, Ranipet 222 cases, Kallakurichi 179 cases, Vellore 174 cases, Villupuram 164 cases and Tiruvannamalai 134 cases.
In the south, Madurai recorded 326 fresh cases, while the surge continued in Thoothukudi with 308 persons testing positive. Kanyakumari had 266 cases, while Theni and Tirunelveli had 234 and 170 cases respectively. Among other districts, a total of 217 persons tested positive in Tiruchi, while 189 tested positive in Coimbatore. Thanjavur had 186 cases and Salem 121 cases. A total of 56 returnees tested positive across the State.
With this, Chennai’s overall tally stood at 92,206, while Chengalpattu accounted for 11,308 cases and Tiruvallur 11,008 cases.
(With inputs from Vijayawada, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai bureaus)