Kerala records 1,195 new COVID-19 cases, 1,234 recoveries on Wednesday

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala's COVID-19 case count reached 29,151 on Wednesday, with the state reporting 1,195 fresh cases. The state also registered 1,234 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

So far, 17,533 people recovered from the disease, while 11,492 patients are still under treatment in various hospitals across the state, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan informed.

Local transmission of COVID-19 continues unabated as 971 people of the newly reported cases contracted the virus through contact. Of this, 79 people's source of infection is unknown, the chief minister said.

Apart from this, 13 healthcare workers (four from Kozhikode, three from Thiruvananthapuram, two from Ernakulam and one each from Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Malappuram and Kannur districts) also contracted the virus.

Twelve employees of Kerala Solvent Extractions Ltd. (KSE), three workers at the KLF Industries in Thrissur, three INHS employees in Ernakulam and two Defence Security Corps (DSC) personnel in Kannur also tested positive for coronavirus.

Of the 1,195 cases reported on Wednesday, 66 people came from abroad, while 125 came from other states.

The single-day case count had crossed the 1000-mark 9 times in past 15 days with 1,195 cases on Wednesday (August 5); 1,083 on Tuesday (August 4); 1,169 on August 2; 1,129 on August 1; 1,310 on July 31; 1,167 on July 28; 1,103 on July 25; 1,078 on July 23 and 1,038 on July 22.

In last 10 days, Kerala registered 10,126 cases, of which 80.5% or 8,159 are contact cases. From when the first case was confirmed in the state on January 30, 2020, it took 168 days, or five-and-a-half months for the state to reach the 10k-mark on July 16. However, it took only 12 more days to cross 20,000 cases on July 28.

Seven more die

The chief minister also confirmed seven more deaths on Wednesday. The deceased were identified as Purushothaman, 66, from Chombala in Kozhikode; Prabhakaran, 73, Feroke, Kozhikode; Marakkar Kutty, 70, Kakkattu, Kozhikode; Abdul Salam, 58, from Velinalloor in Kollam; Yashoda, 59, from Irikkoor in Kannur; Assainar Haji, 76, from Udumbunthala in Kannur; and George Devassy, 83, from Thrikkakkara in Ernakulam.

The official death toll now stands at 94.

District-wise break-up of today's positive cases:

Thiruvananthapuram – 274 (contact cases – 264)

Malappuram – 167 (contact cases – 138)

Kasaragod – 128 (contact cases – 119)

Ernakulam – 120 (contact cases – 83)

Alappuzha – 108 (contact cases – 91)

Thrissur – 86 (contact cases – 54)

Kannur – 61 (contact cases – 41)

Kottayam – 51 (contact cases – 38)

Kozhikode – 39 (contact cases – 35)

Palakkad – 41 (contact cases – 20)

Idukki – 39 (contact cases – 32)

Pathanamthitta – 37 (contact cases – 24)

Kollam – 30 (contact cases – 18)

Wayanad – 14 (all are contact cases)

District-wise break-up of recoveries:

Thiruvananthapuram – 528

Kasaragod – 105

Malappuram – 77

Kozhikode – 72

Alappuzha – 60

Idukki – 58

Kannur – 53

Thrissur – 51

Kollam – 49

Kottayam – 47

Pathanamthitta – 46

Wayanad – 40

Ernakulam – 35

Palakkad – 13

Thiruvananthapuram topped the list of fresh COVID cases on Wednesday as well with 274 more cases. Of them, 264 were infected through local transmission. The chief minister said that virus spread has been slowed down in Poonthura and Vizhinjam coastal areas. However, he warned of the possibilities of more large community clusters emerging in the district. Over 30 cases were reported from the coastal village of Anchuthengu.

Malappuram reported the second highest number of cases - 167. Of them, 139 are contact cases. There is a health worker among those infected.

Kasaragod recorded 128 cases, including 119 contact cases. Source of infection has not been traced in 11 cases. Fifty-three cases were reported from Kasaragod municipality alone.

Ernakulam reported 120 cases. Of them, 88 are contact cases. Western Kochi continues to be under the attack of the virus. Sixteen cases were confirmed in Fort Kochi and eight in Mattancherry.

Alappuzha is the fifth district where over 100 cases were reported. Of them, 89 contracted the disease through local transmission.

Testing and quarantine

In the last 24 hours, 25,096 samples have been tested, a health department statement said on Wednesday.

In total, 8,84,056 samples (including routine, airport surveillance, pooled sentinel, CBNAAT, TrueNAT, CLIA and antigen assay) were sent for testing. Of this, results of 6,444 samples are yet to be returned. Out of the 1,30,614 samples collected as part of sentinel surveillance, results of 1,950 samples are yet to be received, it said.

Of the 1,47,974 people under observation for suspected infection, 1,36,807 are home/institutional quarantined and 11,167 hospitalised. As many as 1,444 people were hospitalised since Tuesday.

21 new places were designated as hotspots on Wednesday, while 15 LSGs were excluded from the list. The state presently has 515 hotspots.

Key points from CM's press meet:

• The spread of disease in Thiruvananthapuram's Poonthura and Vizhinjam regions have shown signs of slowing down. However, it is yet to be tamed in Pattambi in Malappuram district, Fort Kochi and Aluva areas in Ernakulam district.

• Handing over the responsibility of contact tracing to the police helps ease the burden on the health department, says Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan

• Vehicle checking to be intensified in containment zones. In other areas, vehicle checks has been increased to ensure that masks are being used by all passengers and the number of riders does not exceed the limit set by the state.

• Kerala Police have registered cases against four people for violating quarantine rules.

• The state expects heavy rain at various parts of the state in coming days.

• It has been noted that a handful of children have tested positive for coronavirus in Kozhikode district. An 8-month-old baby, who was taken to a funeral by parents, had tested positive. Five kids, who are under the age of five also found to be infected in the district. The situation should be taken seriously and parents should remain alert towards the safety of children, says the chief minister.