Kerala reported 9,347 new COVID cases after 61,629 tests on Sunday. With this, the number of active cases in the state rises to 96,316.

The state also reported 8,924 recoveries, the highest yet. So far, 1,91,798 have been cured of the virus.

Three districts in the state, namely Malappuram, Ernakulam, Kozhikode reported 1000+ COVID cases. Meanwhile, Thrissur, Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam continued its worrying trend of increasing COVID cases.

Of the new cases, 8,216 had contracted the virus through contact while 46 had come from abroad and 155 from other states. The infection source of 821 contact cases remaining unknown is a cause of concern.

COVID deaths in Kerala cross 1,000-mark

Twenty-five COVID deaths were reported in the state.

Though more deaths were reported, the State is yet to ascertain them as COVID deaths.

With this, COVID death toll in the state now stands at 1,003.

105 more healthcare workers infected

Several healthcare workers too contracted the virus - 105 in total.

They include 24 from Kannur, 15 from Kozhikode, 12 from Thiruvananthapuram, 11 from Malappuram, 10 from Thrissur, 8 each from Kottayam and Ernakulam, 5 from Kasaragod, 4 from Kollam, 3 each from Pathanamthitta and Wayanad, and 2 from Alappuzha.

Four INHS workers in Ernakulam too tested positive for the virus.

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

Malappuram: 1,451 (contact cases - 1,332)

Ernakulam: 1,228 (1,003)

Kozhikode: 1,219 (1,128)

Thrissur: 960 (943)

Thiruvananthapuram: 797 (633)

Kollam: 712 (705)

Palakkad: 640 (404)

Alappuzha: 619 (615)

Kottayam: 417 (405)

Kannur: 413 (270)

Pathanamthitta: 378 (308)

Kasaragod: 242 (222)

Wayanad: 148 (141)

Idukki: 123 (78)

Recoveries

Kerala reported 8,924 recoveries on Sunday. This is the higest recoveries recorded yet.

With this, 1,91,798 have been cured of the virus in the state.

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

Kasaragod: 505

Kannur: 347

Wayanad: 96

Kozhikode: 954

Malappuram: 1,059

Palakkad: 546

Thrissur: 580

Ernakulam: 1,036

Idukki: 50

Kottayam: 161

Alappuzha: 729 

Pathanamthitta: 240

Kollam: 1,421

Thiruvananthapuram: 1,200

Testing and quarantine

There are currently 2,84,924 people under surveillance across the state. Of them, 2,56,172 are under home/institutional quarantine while 28,752 are in hospitals. A total of 3,658 people were admitted to the hospital today.

In wake of recent surge in cases, the State has ramped up testing. A total of 61,629 samples were tested in the last 24 hours.

So far, 35,94,320 samples have been sent for testing, including routine samples, Airport Surveillance, Pooled Sentinel, CBNAT, Trunat, CLIA and Antigen Assay.

In addition, as part of Sentinel Surveillance, 2,12,896 samples were sent for testing from priority groups such as health workers, guest workers, and individuals with greater social contact.

Hotspots

Twelve new regions were designated as hotspots in the state while ten have been excluded from the hotspots list.

There are currently 666 hotspots in the state.