Onam sees decline in testing & cases in Kerala

TNN | Sep 3, 2020, 06:10 IST

Kids wearing masks chase pigeons at the Durbar Hall ground in Kochi on Wednesday. The relaxation in lockdown norms during the festival period has been a relief for most children

Kids wearing masks chase pigeons at the Durbar Hall ground in Kochi on Wednesday. The relaxation in lockdown n...Read More

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The decline in testing in the state due to Onam holidays has been reflecting in the caseload. From 14,137 samples tested on Tuesday – which showed up 1,140 positive cases – the number increased to 23,850 on Wednesday, when 1,547 new cases were reported. In the last week of August, this ranged from 34,000 to 40,000 per day as positive cases peaked at over 2,500.
The state has seen 78,072 positive cases, so far. It has 21,923 active cases. With 2,129 recoveries reported on Wednesday the total tally now stands at 55,782.
Seven more deaths took the total toll to 306. The deceased are Aboobacker, 60, of Kasaragod; Omanakuttan, 63, Silvamma, 80, and Balachandran Nair, 63, of Thiruvananthapuram; and Nabeesa Beeran, 75, Baby George, 60 and Sadanandan, 57, of Ernakulam. Thiruvananthapuram has seen 16,003 cases and 94 deaths. It is followed by Malappuram, which has reported 9,739 cases and 24 deaths, and Ernakulam with 6,456 cases and 37 deaths.
Among Wednesday’s new cases, 1,461 were infected through contacts and the source of 156 remains untraced. While 21 had travelled from abroad, 65 are from other states. Also, 36 healthcare workers and six Coast Guard personnel from INSH have been infected through local transmission.
Thiruvananthapuram recorded the highest number of positive cases on the day, at 228, followed by Kozhikode with 204 cases, Alappuzha
(159), Malappuram (146), Kottayam (145), Kannur (142) and Ernakulam (136). Thrissur reported 121 new cases, Kasaragod 88, Kollam 81, Wayanad 38, Palakkad 30, Pathanamthitta 17 and Idukki 12.
With 211, Thiruvananthapuram also posted the most contact cases, followed by Kozhikode (196), Kottayam (143), Malappuram (134), and Alappuzha (131). Ernakulam reported 122 contact cases, Kannur 121, Thrissur 116, Kasaragod 85, Kollam 77, Wayanad 31, Palakkad 24, Pathanamthitta 16 and Idukki 12. There are currently 1,93,736 people under observation in the state, with 1,75,382 at home or institutional quarantine centres and 18,354 in hospitals.
In the last 24 hours, 23,850 samples were tested. So far, 17,24,658 samples have been sent for testing, including 1,79,862 from high-exposure groups as part of sentinel surveillance.