Kerala reported 7,354 new COVID cases on Tuesday. This was the third time the daily infection tally crossed 7000-mark. With this, the number of active cases in the state soared to 61,791. The day also saw 3,420 recoveries.
Of the fresh infections, 6,364 contracted the virus through contact while the source of 672 could not be traced. Fifty-eight infected persons came from abroad while the remaining 130 from other states.
Twenty-two deaths were also reported on Tuesday.
Disclosing the numbers at a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the massive spike in COVID-19 in September was a major cause for worry. "The source of 96 per cent of the infections was contact. If this situation continues, the state will be in grave danger," he said.
He said complete disregard for COVID-19 protocol was the reason for the surge. "The state machinery would take all possible measures to control this situation," he said.
All-party meet decides against lockdown
Vijayan said the all-party meeting held on Tuesday afternoon decided against imposing total lockdown to contain COVID-19.
"The all-party meet observed that total lockdown would not be effective to contain COVID-19 surge. So we have decided to tighten measures," he said.
"COVID protocol should be strictly adhered to in marriage, funeral and political party functions. Only permitted number of people should participate in such events," he said.
Here's the detailed break-up of today's cases:
Malappuram 1040 (contact cases - 1024)
Thiruvananthapuram 935 (898)
Ernakulam 859 (843)
Kozhikode 837 (827)
Kollam 583 (566)
Alappuzha 524 (499)
Thrissur 484 (476)
Kasaragod 453 (400)
Kannur 432 (387)
Palakkad 374 (365)
Kottayam 336 (324)
Pathanamthitta 271 (224)
Wayanad 169 (157)
Idukki 57 (46)
130 health workers too have contracted the virus. They include 32 from Kannur, 30 from Thiruvananthapuram, 24 from Kasaragod, 10 from Ernakulam, 5 each from Alappuzha, Thrissur and Wayanad, 4 each from Pathanamthitta, Kottayam and Malappuram, 3 from Kollam, and two each from Palakkad and Kozhikode.
Recoveries
3,420 recoveries were also reported in the state. With this, 1,24,688 have recovered from the virus so far.
Here's the detailed break-up of today's recoveries:
Thiruvananthapuram 433
Kollam 262
Pathanamthitta 137
Alappuzha 273
Kottayam 157
Idukki 84
Ernakulam 216
Thrissur 236
Palakkad 269
Malappuram 519
Kozhikode 465
Wayanad 53
Kannur 197
Kasaragod 119
There are currently 2,36,960 people under observation across the state. Of them, 2,08,258 are under home/institutional quarantine while 28,702 are in hospitals.
A total of 2,906 people were admitted in hospitals on Tuesday. 52,755 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. So far, a total of 28,62,094 samples have been sent for testing, including routine samples, Airport Surveillance, Pooled Sentinel, CBNAT, TRUNAT, CLIA and Antigen Assay.
As part of Sentinel Surveillance, 2,03,323 samples were also sent for testing from priority groups, including health workers, guest workers, and individuals with greater social contact.
The number of ICU ventilators have been increased in Kalamassery Medical College Hospital amid the increasing number of cases in Ernakulam.
Special COVID First-Line Treatment Centres have also been arranged for guest workers.
Vijayan said plasma therapy will be encouraged in the state. Patients who have recovered from COVID-19 may donate their plasma two weeks after recovery.
Eleven regions were designated as hotspots while 10 regions have been excluded from the list. There are currently 661 hotspots in the state.