Active cases fall by 15% in one week: CM

State reports 2,791 new cases when 61,764 samples tested in 24 hours

The State’s COVID-19 case graph is on a downward slope, with new cases declining significantly and the active case pool also dropping rapidly.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that active cases had declined by nearly 15% in the past one week and that the current disease transmission rate is the lowest recorded by the State in the past five months.

Kerala reported 2,791 new cases on Saturday when 61,764 samples were tested in the past 24 hours. The cumulative case burden rose to 10,75,227 cases. The test positivity rate was 4.52%.

Of the 61,764 tests, 32,504 were rapid antigen assay, while RT PCR numbered 27,130. Other molecular diagnostic tests such as Truenat and CBNAAT constituted the remaining tests.

The active case pool has witnessed a steady decline since the past two weeks. The number of recoveries reported on a daily basis has been significantly higher than new cases. With 3,517 recoveries being reported, the active case load dropped further to 42,819 cases. The cumulative recoveries reported ever since the pandemic began now stands at 10,27,826.

The addition of 16 new deaths, which took place in the past few days, to the official list of fatalities took the toll till date to 4,287.

Kollam reported three deaths, Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Wayanad and Kannur two each, while Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Malappuram reported one death each.

The number of critically ill patients who are currently being treated in ICUs in various hospitals is 573, according to official reports, with 191 of them requiring ventilator assistance.

Among districts, Kozhikode reported the maximum number of new cases with 376 cases, Kollam 299, Malappuram 286, Ernakulam 237, Thrissur 231, Kottayam 223, Pathanamthitta 222, Kannur 215, Alappuzha 206, Thiruvananthapuram 188, Palakkad 102, Kasaragod 89, Wayanad 61 and Idukki 56.