Kerala reports 1,544 Covid-19 cases, positivity rate at 11.38%

T'PURAM: The Covid-19 cases in the state are increasing, with 1,544 cases reported on Saturday. The last time the state recorded over 1,500 cases was on March 8, when 1,791 Covid cases were reported.
The test positivity rate also has climbed above 10% for the first time since March. The present TPR is 11.38%. Since May 31, the state has been reporting over 1,000 cases per day. The Centre had also written to the state government urging them to take extra caution over increase in cases.
On Saturday, of the 1,544 Covid cases reported of 13,558 tests conducted, 481 were from Ernakulam and 220 from Thiruvananthapuram. Districts with over a hundred Covid cases on the day were Kottayam (175), Kozhikode (133), Thrissur (112) and Pathanamthitta (105).
Active cases are also increasing in the state. At present, there are 7,972 active cases in the state, of which 2,862 are in Ernakulam and 1,485 in Thiruvananthapuram. Kottayam has 930 active cases and Kozhikode has 670.
In the last four days, 43 deaths have been confirmed due to Covid-19. The death toll in the state has climbed to 69,790, and Thiruvananthapuram tops the list with 8,413 deaths, followed by Ernakulam (8,258).
Even though Covid cases are increasing, the state health department has said that there was no need for any concern. The genomic sequencing done of the samples taken randomly has found that no new variant has been reported in the state. The department has confirmed that the Omicron variant is spreading in the state.
On Friday, the Centre had alerted the state to increase testing and go for genomic sequencing of samples collected from international passengers. The Centre had pointed out that 31.14% of total cases reported in the country are from Kerala.