The COVID-19 case graph of the State resumed its exponential rise after a brief Onam lull.

With testing escalating to 45,949 samples in the past 24 hours, 3,402 new cases were reported on Wednesday, a new high for the State. The day also saw 2,058 patients recover from the disease.

The cumulative case burden is inching towards the one-lakh mark and now stands at 95,917 cases. With 70,917 recoveries having been reported till date, the number of active cases being treated in various hospitals is 24,549.

The death toll rose to 384 with 12 more deaths which occurred between August 21 and September 6 being added to the “provisional” death list by the Health Department.

Six of these deaths were reported from Thiruvananthapuram, four from Kasaragod and one each from Ernakulam and Thrissur.

Nearly 95% of the new cases reported on Wednesday — 3,223 out of the 3,402 new cases — are locally acquired infections, a trend which has been a constant in the State’s epidemic picture since the past two months. In 235 cases, the source of infection remains a mystery.

The number of health workers being affected is also a steady constant, with 88 more being affected on Wednesday. This includes 26 cases in Thiruvananthapuram and 23 in Kannur and the rest divided between districts. In August alone, over a thousand health-care workers had been affected, in both private and public sector hospitals.

Thiruvananthapuram continues to have the highest number of fresh cases at 531, of which all except three cases are a result of local transmission.

Among other districts, Kollam registered more new cases than usual at 362, Kozhikode 330, Thrissur 323, Ernakulam 276, Kasaragod 270, Kannur 251, Alappuzha 240, Malappuram 201, Kottayam 196, Pathanamthitta 190, Palakkad 131, Wayanad 77 and Idukki 24.

The number of hotspots at present is 570.