Kerala recorded 3,215 new COVID-19 cases and 2,532 recoveries on Tuesday.
Of Tuesday's cases, 3,013 contracted the disease through contact. Among them, the source of infection of 313 is yet to be traced, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said during his evening briefing.
There are 89 health workers among the newly infected: 31 from Kannur, 23 from Thiruvananthapuram, 8 from Malappuram, 7 from Ernakulam, 6 from Pathanamthitta, 5 from Thrissur, 4 from Kasaragod, 3 from Palakkad, and one each from Alappuzha and Wayanad.
Twelve deaths were confirmed in the state due to the disease taking the official toll to 466.
Forty-three of the newly-infected came from abroad while 70 came from other states.
The state has reported 114,033 COVID-19 cases so far, out of which 82,345 persons recovered. The remaining 31,156 patients are being treated in various hospitals.
Key points from the CM's press meet:
• Coronavirus pandemic has invited comparisons with 1918's Spanish Flu. It had 50 crore infected, 5 crore deaths. Despite our scientific advances, COVID has infected 3 crore and resulted in 10 lakh deaths. In India alone, 50 lakhs infected and 80,000 died.
• We will overcome COVID just like we overcame Spanish flu. It's no doubt a test of humanity, against an unseen enemy. We should not let our negligence falter our steps in this fight. The threats are very real.
• On Tuesday, 5901 incidents of people not wearing masks were reported in the state.
• Also disheartening is how few factions are spreading false information regarding the ineffectiveness of precautionary measures designed to curb coronavirus. This registration is a dangerous predicament, one that can result in severe consequences.
• If you look at the data from the last few weeks, it is evident that contact cases form the largest contributor to daily COVID spikes.
• We must not let our guard now. Not now. Not ever. The idea that our measures are ineffective must be discarded. They have been effective in curbing COVID threat in the state to a large extent.
• The credit goes to the restraint of the people of our state, their consideration, and of course, the efforts of our health personnel.
• New waves of COVID are imminent in Europe and elsewhere, study reveals. We have been able to restrict such an occurrence in the State so far. Our efforts will be ramped up in coming days to curb the virus further. As mentioned earlier, daily tests will be increased to 50K.
• This "protest" outside the Secretariat in these days of COVID crisis is a concern. It is in violation of the directives issued by the Health Department. We welcome the High Court's intervention in this matter. Yet, these protests continue - without masks, not heeding social distance and in complete disregard of COVID rules. It is disrupting the peace in the state. It cannot be allowed. It's Kerala govt's responsibility - no matter what party is at the helm - to see it to an end, immediately, the CM said.
• The fact that leaders who represent the people too are among the protests is also another matter of concern. It is reinforcing the idea that COVID measures are needless. He added.
• Volunteers have been instrumental in aiding the state in its efforts to curb coronavirus. CM urged more youngsters to come forward. The state will welcome the efforts of our youngsters. They will play a big role in our fight against coronavirus.
Here's the district-wise break-up of today's cases:
Thiruvananthapuram - 656 (626 contact cases)
Malappuram - 348 (324)
Alappuzha - 338 (327)
Kozhikode - 260 (256)
Ernakulam - 239 (229)
Kollam - 234 (229)
Kannur - 213 (165)
Kottayam - 192 (189)
Thrissur - 188 (180)
Kasaragod - 172 (168)
Pathanamthitta - 146 (99)
Palakkad - 136 (132)
Wayanad - 64 (62)
Idukki - 29 (27)
District-wise break-up of today's recoveries:
Thiruvananthapuram - 268
Kollam - 151
Pathanamthitta - 122
Alappuzha - 234
Kottayam - 138
Idukki - 43
Ernakulam - 209
Thrissur - 120
Palakkad - 120
Malappuram - 303
Kozhikode - 306
Wayanad - 32
Kannur - 228
Kasaragod - 258
Testing & quarantine
There are 2,08,141 people under observation across the state. Of them, 1,85,514 are under home/institutional quarantine while 22,627 are in hospitals. As many as 2,324 were admitted in hospitals on Thursday.
So far, 21,98,858 samples were tested in the state. A total of 41,054 samples were tested in 24 hours. In addition, as part of Sentinel Surveillance, 1,90,612 more samples were tested from priority groups.
Twelve new regions were designated as hotspots in the state while 10 regions have been excluded from the list. There are currently 617 hotspots in the state.