Thiruvananthapuram
Kerala’s cumulative burden of COVID-19 rose to 5,57,441 cases with 5,722 new cases being registered on Saturday when 60,210 samples were tested in the past 24 hours.
The test positivity rate, which has been hovering around the 9-10 % range since the past three days, touched 9.59 % on Saturday.
The trend of the State reporting more recoveries than new cases continued for the 14th consecutive day with 6,719 patients recovering from their disease and leaving hospitals.
The active caseload of the State reduced to 66,856 cases while the cumulative recoveries till date went up to 4,88,437.
The State’s cumulative COVID toll crossed the 2,000 mark on Saturday to reach 2,022 cases, when 25 new deaths were added on to the official COVID death list. The unofficial list of the State’s COVID deaths maintained by public health experts put the actual COVID toll to be at least 1,500 more because the State has not been acknowledging many deaths of those with terminal illness or post-Covid sequelae as COVID deaths.
Seven of the new deaths on Saturday were reported from Thiruvananthapuram, five from Alapuzha, four from Kozhikode, Three from Palakkad, two each from Malappuram and Kottayam and one each from Thrissur and Kollam.
Of the patients currently being treated in hospitals, 851 patients are said to be critically ill with 217 requiring ventilator support.
According to the Health department, 5,681 out of the 5,722 cases reported on Saturday are locally acquired infections. No epidemiological link could be established in the case of 639 infections. The number of healthcare workers who contracted the infection is 53.
Among districts, Ernakulam topped the chart with 797 new cases, Malappuram 764 cases, Kozhikode 710, Thrissur 483, Palakkad 478, Kollam 464, Kottayam 423, Thiruvananthapuram 399, Alapuzha 383, Pathanamthitta 216, Kannur 211, Idukki 188, Wayanad 152, and Kasaragod 104 cases.