Kerala reported 3,792 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday when 73,710 samples were tested in 24 hours. The State’s cumulative case burden ever since the pandemic began rose to 10,56,149.
The test positivity rate, which has been hovering in the 5-6% range for the past few days, was 5.14% on Saturday.
Of the 73,710 tests done by the State, 40,920 were rapid antigen assay. With the State engaging the first mobile RT-PCR lab at Thiruvananthapuram, in addition to the existing labs, the total RT-PCR test numbers went up to 30,304 for the first time. Other molecular diagnostic tests like Truenat, CBNAAT, constituted the remaining tests.
18 deaths
With 4,650 recoveries being reported on Saturday, the active caseload dropped further to 50,514.
The cumulative recoveries reported by the State ever since the pandemic began crossed the 10 lakh mark and now stand at 10,01,164. On Saturday, the addition of 18 deaths that occurred in the past few days to the official list took the State’s cumulative COVID-19 toll to 4,182 deaths.
Thiruvananthapuram reported seven deaths, Kozhikode three, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Malappuram two each while Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta reported one death each.
The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients who are being treated in ICUs in various hospitals in the State is 685 as on Saturday, according to official reports, with 193 of them requiring ventilator assistance.
Kozhikode on top
Among districts, Kozhikode reported the maximum number of new cases with 519 cases, followed by Thrissur 416, Ernakulam 415, Kollam 411, Malappuram 388, Alappuzha 308, Pathanamthitta 270, Thiruvananthapuram 240, Kottayam 236, Kannur 173, Kasaragod 148, Palakkad 115, Wayanad 82, and Idukki 71 cases.