After the lull in cases over the weekend, Kerala again added another 37,190 new cases of COVID-19 to its tally on Tuesday, when 1,42,588 samples were tested in 24 hours. The average test positivity rate in the State which had remained around 25% last week has now climbed to 26.08%. The active case pool of the State has grown to include 3,56,872 patients.
The second wave of COVID is likely to see the State’s case mortality graph climb. While the authorities point out that the increase in deaths are only in proportion to the steep increase in total case numbers, COVID is certainly taking more lives.
A record number of 57 deaths which had occurred over the past few days were added to the State’s official COVID toll, taking the cumulative COVID fatalities to 5,507.
This included 28 deaths reported from Thiruvananthapuram (between April 30 -May 3), nine from Kozhikode, eight from Malappuram, six from Kannur, four from Ernakulam while one death each was reported from Wayanad and Kollam
Hospital and ICU admissions are still showing a rising trend, in proportion to the increase in new cases. The number of COVID patients currently being treated in hospitals in the State has risen to 28,115, with 3,253 patients getting hospitalised on Tuesday.
The State now has 1,975 critically ill patients in ICUs, with 756 of them requiring ventilator assistance. At present, 7,31,629 persons have been put on home or institutional isolation.
On Tuesday, a record 26,148 patients were declared to have recovered from COVID and let off from hospitals/institutions. The total recoveries till date is 13,39,257. The cumulative case burden of the State now stands at 17,01,979.
Ernakulam continues to have the highest number of active cases with 54,586 patients , followed by Kozhikode (49,442), Malappuram (41,565), Thrissur (39,989) and Thiruvananthapuram (29,689) account for a chunk of the State’s entire case pool of active cases.
Thiruvananthapuram has the highest number of hospitalised patients at 3,982, while Ernakulam, even with a much higher active case pool, has less hospitalisations at 3,731.
Among districts, Ernakulam reported the highest number of new cases with 5,030 cases, Kozhikode 4,788, Malappuram 4,323, Thrissur 3,567, Thiruvananthapuram 3,388, Palakkad 3,111, Alappuzha 2,719, Kollam 2,429, Kottayam 2,170, Kannur 1,985, Pathanamthitta 1,093, Wayanad 959, Idukki 955 and Kasaragod 673 cases.