Kerala reports 5,445 new COVID cases on Thursday, positivity rate drops

A day after Kerala reported over 10,000 new COVID cases, the state saw a small dip in the daily-COVID tally on Thursday. 5,445 new cases were reported despite 63,146 tests being conducted across the state.

Of the new cases, 4,616 have contracted the virus through contact, a telling sign that depsite the many measures employed, local transmission continues still. The infection source of 502 contact cases staying untraced is also a cause of concern.

The remaining cases are of those who came from abroad (55) and from other states (195).

With this, the number of active COVID cases in the state rose to 90,579.

The day also saw the test positivity rate (TPR) fall under nine percent, the first time it had happened in 16 days.

The TPR is the number of people infected when 100 are tested. World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that the TPR should be kept below 5 percent. 

Thursday's TPR of 8.62 is the lowest for Kerala in 20 days. On October 7, it was 13.85, and it touched a peak of 14.68 on October 5.

The state also reported 7,003 recoveries, the highest yet. So far, 1,67,256 have been cured of the virus.

After being on top of Kerala COVID list for weeks, Thiruvananthapuram saw a drastic fall in the number of new COVID cases on Thursday (467). The fact that only 349 of those are contact cases also offers some hope.

That's not all, Thiruvananthapuram also topped the recoveries list with 1,520.

Meanwhile, Malappuram saw an upswing in cases, recording over 1,000 cases for the second day in a row.

24 more COVID deaths

Twenty-four COVID deaths were confirmed in the state.

Though more deaths were reported, the State is yet to ascertain them as COVID deaths. Tests are underway at the National Institute of Virology in Alappuzha.

With this, COVID death toll in the state now stands at 930.

73 more healthcare workers infected

Seventy-three healthcare workers too contracted the virus.

They include 15 from Thiruvananthapuram, 11 each from Malappuram and Kannur, 8 each from Pathanamthitta and Ernakulam, 7 from Kollam, 6 from Kozhikode, 3 from Thrissur, and 2 each from Palakkad and Kasaragod.

Four INHS employees in Ernakulam too tested positive for COVID-19.

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

Malappuram: 1,024 (contact cases - 916)

Kozhikode: 688 (651)

Kollam: 497 (477)

Thiruvananthapuram: 467 (349)

Ernakulam: 391 (291)

Thrissur: 385 (377)

Kannur: 377 (261)

Alappuzha: 317 (306)

Pathanamthitta: 295 (181)

Palakkad: 285 (164)

Kasaragod: 236 (218)

Kottayam: 231 (229)

Wayanad: 131 (126)

Idukki: 121 (70)

Recoveries

Kerala also reported 7,003 recoveries, the highest yet.

So far, 1,67,256 have been cured of the virus in the state.

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

Thiruvananthapuram: 1,520

Kozhikode: 1,113

Malappuram: 876

Ernakulam: 707

Thrissur: 460

Alappuzha: 457

Palakkad: 407

Kannur: 387

Kottayam: 375

Kollam: 259

Pathanamthitta: 139

Wayanad: 129

Kasaragod: 105

Idukki: 69

Testing and quarantine

There are currently 2,71,439 people under surveillance across the state. Of them, 2,42,056 are under home or institutional quarantine while 29,383 are in hospitals. A total of 4,066 people were admitted to the hospital today.

During the last 24 hours, 63,146 samples were tested. With this, 34,029.03 samples have so far been sent for testing in the state. This includes routine samples, Airport Surveillance, Pooled Sentinel, CBNAT, TRUnat, CLIA and Antigen Assay.

In addition, as part of Sentinel Surveillance, 2,11,281 samples were sent for testing from priority groups, including health workers, guest workers, and individuals with greater social contact.

Hotspots

Nine regions were designated as hotspots on Thursday while 10 were excluded from the list.

There are currently 721 hotspots in the state.