COVID-19: Kerala records highest single-day count of 1,298 on Thursday, tally crosses 30k

Kerala recorded 1,298 new COVID-19 cases and 800 recoveries on Thursday.

With this, the total number of confirmed cases in the state crossed the 30k-mark, 188 days after the first case was reported in the state on January 30.

Of Thursday's cases, 1,017 contracted the disease through contact. The source of infection of 76 of them is yet to be traced.

Among the new cases, 78 infected persons came from abroad while 170 came from other states.

Three more deaths have also been reported from the state due to the disease. The test results of Khadeeja, 51, from Manjeswar in Kasaragod, who died on July 31; Shaharbanu, 73, a resident of Uppala in Kasaragod, who died on August 2; and Silva Adimai, 63, from Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram who died on August 5 returned positive on Thursday. With these, the official toll rose to 97 in the state.

The state has reported 30,449 COVID-19 cases so far, out of which 18,337 persons recovered. The remaining 11,983 patients are being treated in various hospitals.

The COVID-19 tally crossed the milestone 20,000-mark in Kerala on July 28.

From when the first case was confirmed in the state on January 30, 2020, it took 168 days, or five-and-a-half months to reach the 10k-mark on July 16. However, it took only 12 more days to cross 20,000 cases and a mere nine days to hit the 30,000 mark.

Here's the district-wise break-up of today's cases:

Thiruvananthapuram - 219 (contact cases - 210)
Kozhikode - 174 (128)
Kasaragod - 153 (139)
Palakkad - 136 (61)
Malappuram - 129 (109)
Alappuzha - 99 (94)
Thrissur - 74 (62)
Ernakulam - 73 (54)
Idukki - 58 (23)
Wayanad - 46 (44)
Kottayam - 40 (36)
Pathanamthitta - 30 (11)
Kannur - 30 (23)
Kollam - 31 (23)

District-wise break-up of today's recoveries:

Ernakulam - 146
Thiruvananthapuram - 137
Malappuram - 114
Kasaragod - 61
Kottayam - 54
Kollam - 49
Thrissur - 48
Pathanamthitta - 46
Palakkad - 41
Alappuzha - 40
Idukki - 20
Wayanad - 20
Kannur - 18
Kozhikode - 16

Among Thursday's positive cases, there are 29 healthcare workers too – eight in Kasaragod district, seven in Thiruvananthapuram, five in Kozhikode, three in Ernakulam, two in Wayanad, one each in Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Malappuram and Kannur. Three KSEB employees in Thrissur and an INHS personnel in Ernakulam were among those infected.

Thiruvananthapuram recorded over 200 cases again with 219 people testing positive on Thursday. Four other districts – Kozhikode, Kasaragod, Palakkad and Malappuram – reported over 100 cases, while Alappuzha confirmed 99 cases.

Of the 174 cases in Kozhikode, source of infection is not known in six cases. Fifty-seven of the contact cases were reported in Kozhikode corporation.

Of the 152 cases in Kasaragod, 139 are contact cases. Source is not known in four cases.

In Palakkad, 136 cases were confirmed. Of them, 63 are contact cases. Source has not been traced in nine cases.

In Malappuram, 129 people tested positive. Of them, 109 contracted the disease through contact. Source has not been identified in 19 cases.

Of the 99 cases in Alappuzha, 94 are contact cases. While 39 cases were reported from Pattanakad area, 26 tested positive in Chettikad.

Of the 74 cases reported in Thrissur, source has not been traced in nine cases. Seventeen cases were reported from Irinjalakuda cluster.

There are currently 1,48,039 people under surveillance in various districts in the state. Of them, 1,36,602 are under home/institutional quarantine and 11,437 are in hospitals. In the past 24 hours, 1,390 were admitted in hospitals across the state.

A total of 9,08,355 samples have been sent for testing so far. 25,205 samples were tested in the past 24 hours. The results of 6,346 tests are awaited.

Twelve regions have been declared as hotspots on Thursday. With this, there are 511 hotspots in the state.