The COVID-19 case graph of Kerala rose steeply on Tuesday with a significant surge in new cases, when 9,066 people tested positive for COVID in the past 24 hours. The total number of samples tested was 63,898
The growth rate of new cases was 100 % in the week from January 4-10, in comparison to the previous week, resulting in 18,149 new cases during this period. The number of active patients went up by 45% while hospitalisations went up by only 2 % during this period. ICU and ventilator occupancy showed a downward trend
The surge in new cases has not begun to be reflected in the hospitalisation graph. Apart from the surge in hospitalisation, absenteeism of healthcare workers in hospitals after contracting COVID is another issue that could crop up. Though the number of healthcare workers testing COVID-positive has begun to rise, it is yet to create a crisis in the health system.
With the increase in new cases, the State’s active case pool has risen to 44,441, of whom, only 5.7 % are currently admitted in hospitals or field hospitals like COVID first line/second line treatment centres. A total of 2, 064 people were reported to have recovered from the disease on Tuesday.
Current ICU occupancy of COVID patients in both public and private hospitals in the State went up slightly to 457 cases, while the number of patients requiring ventilator support also showed a nominal increase from 148 on Monday to 161 on Tuesday
The number of patients in the State newly admitted to hospitals with COVID showed a jump from 257 on Monday to 298 cases on Tuesday . Hospitalisations are rising slowly, with 2,887 people being treated for moderate or severe COVID in hospitals across the State.
The official cumulative COVID-19 case fatality in the State crossed the 50,000 mark on Tuesday and now stands at 50,053, with the State adding 296 deaths to the official list of COVID deaths on Tuesday.
This includes 19 deaths which occurred in the past few days and 277 deaths which have now been accepted as COVID deaths by the Government as per the new guidelines of the Centre and following the appeals filed by families
Till now, a total of 19,343 deaths have been newly added to the State’s official list of COVID deaths
The State’s cumulative COVID-19 burden, ever since the pandemic began, now stands at 53,00,405 cases.
Among districts, Thiruvananthapuram reported the highest number of new cases with 2,200 cases, Ernakulam 1,478, Thrissur 943, Kozhikode 801, Kottayam 587, Kollam 551, Palakkad 511, Kannur 417, Pathanamthitta 410, Alappuzha 347, Malappuram 309, Idukki 239, Wayanad 155 and Kasaragod 118 cases.
