In another big spike, Kerala on Friday reported 9,258 new cases of COVID-19 , after testing 63,175 samples in 24 hours.
As cases soared, the State government said prohibitory orders would be imposed in the districts, including Thiruvananthapuram, which had 1,096 cases, banning gatherings of more than five persons in public places from Saturday.
The restrictions under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code would be in effect till October 31. Test positivity went up to 14.6% on Friday.
Active cases defied State plans for the peak of the epidemic, touching 77,482. Of these, 501 were being treated in ICUs, with another 115 on ventilator.s
Thiruvananthapuram had the maximum cases at 12,223, followed by Ernakulam with 9,420, Kozhikode 8,460, Kollam 6,837, Thrissur 6,392 and Malappuram 6,340 cases.
The State added 20 more deaths which occurred between September 1-30, taking the cumulative toll to 791. Kollam reported six deaths, Thiruvananthapuram and Kottayam, four each, while three deaths took place in Alapuzha, two in Ernakulam and one in Kozhikode.
Four districts added over 1,000 cases. Kozhikode had 1,146 cases, Thiruvananthapuram 1,096 cases, Ernakulam 1,042 cases and Malappuram 1,016 cases. Kollam had 892 cases, Thrissur 812, Palakkad 633, Kannur 625, Alapuzha 605, Kasaragod 476, Kottayam 432, Pathanamthitta 239, Idukki 136 and Wayanad 108 cases.
Telangana recorded 2,008 cases on Thursday and 10 more people died of the virus. Active cases stood at 28,620 with 23,372 patients under home or institutional quarantine. The State tested 54,098 samples.
Greater Hyderabad added 293 cases on Thursday, Medchal-Malkajgiri and Rangareddy reported 173 and 171 cases, respectively, while Karimnagar had 114, Nalgonda 109 and Khammam 104.
Karnataka on Friday reported 8,793 more cases and 125 deaths.
Bengaluru Urban recorded 4,259 cases and 47 deaths. The State tested 92,059 samples, 44,046 through rapid antigen tests.
Andhra Pradesh added 6,555 infections and 31 deaths on Friday. Currently, 56,897 patients were in hospitals or in home isolation. The tally for test samples was 70,399. The two Godavari districts and Chittoor reported over 900 new infections.
New cases and deaths were as follows: East Godavari (975 and 4), West Godavari (930 and 2), Chittoor (925 and 3), Prakasam (668 and 2), Nellore (486 and 0), Krishna (473 and 6), Guntur (451 and 2), Kadapa (339 and 1), Anantapur (333 and 4), Visakhpatnam (297 and 3), Vizianagaram (251 and 0), Srikakulam (223 and 1) and Kurnool (204 and 3).
(With inputs from Vijayawada, Hyderabad and Bengaluru bureaus)
