The COVID-19 death toll in Thiruvananthapuram jumped to 22 while 297 people tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on Tuesday. As many as 498 persons recovered from the illness in the district, leaving the number of active cases at 3,026.
Those who succumbed to the disease include an 80-year-old Vallakkadavu native who died August 1, a 52-year-old Vellanad native who died on August 3, and a 68-year-old Varkala native who died on August 8.
Among the newly reported cases, 279 people contracted the infection through local transmission. Twelve health workers have also been infected in the district.
A 54-year-old health inspector from Peyad, who allegedly committed suicide by jumping into the Karamana river, was found to have been suffering from the disease. Another employee of the Directorate of Health Services, a clerk in the accounts section, tested positive on the day.
Eleven people tested positive in Anjuthengu where COVID-19 testing resumed after a gap of two days. As many as 39 people were tested in Anjuthengu junction and Mambally. Three people also were diagnosed with the disease in the Kallikad grama panchayat where 92 people were tested on the day. Cases were also reported from Poovachal (5), Vilappilsala, Kallara (2 each), and Plavoor near Kattakada (1).
An Attingal native, who worked as a staff nurse in the Government Medical College Hospital, Parippally, also tested positive.
Attingal MLA, B. Sathyan, who has been undergoing quarantine since August 2 after participating in a meeting with the Attingal DySP who was later diagnosed with COVID-19, tested negative on the day.
Others who tested negative also include the presidents of the Kilimanoor block panchayat and the Nagaroor grama panchayat who were under quarantine.