Kerala’s COVID-19 case graph soared on Thursday with 4,351 new cases. As the epidemic scaled a new peak, experts predicted a further rise. The number of samples tested in the last 24 hours was 45,730.
Cases being treated in hospitals stood at 34,314, of whom 299 persons were critically ill, and 75 were on ventilator support.
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Ten more deaths were added to the official death list. Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam reported three deaths each, Thrissur two, and Malappuram and Kozhikode one death each .
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The rise in active cases was a major concern as health system capacity may not be able to keep up with the surge. Even with the districts launching home care of asymptomatic and mild patients, Thiruvananthapuram had over 6,000 active cases, while Kozhikode, Malappuram and Ernakulam had over 3,000 active cases. Of the new cases, 95% were locally acquired infections.
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Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the media that disease transmission in the capital was a matter of concern.
The district on Thursday reported 820 cases, of which all except one were locally transmitted infections. In the past week, Thiruvananthapuram reported 4,184 cases.
Telangana’s reported incidence was flat at 2,159 cases on Wednesday. Around 60,000 samples were tested during weekdays, but only around 55,000 per day from September 14-16. On Wednesday, 53,094 tests were done.
The death of nine more patients was reported. The new cases included 318 from Greater Hyderabad, 176 in Rangareddy, 141 in Nalgonda, 132 in Siddipet, 127 in Karimnagar, 121 in Medchal Malkajgiri, and 98 in Warangal Urban.
With 8,702 infections and 72 deaths on Thursday, Andhra Pradesh was the only State after Maharashtra to witness over six lakh infections. Over ten days, 71.8 lakh samples were tested, and the positivity rate was 13.21%. Active cases were down to 88,197. In 24 hours, the State tested 77,492 samples, its highest level yet.
East Godavari reported 1,383 new cases, the highest tally, and five deaths in 24 hours; West Godavari (1,064 & 4 deaths), Chittoor (905 & 12), Prakasam (705 & 10), Kadapa (637 & 7), Nellore (610 & 6), Srikakulam (567 & 2), Guntur (550 & 6), Anantapur (545 & 4), Vizianagaram (526 & 1), Visakhapatnam (449 & 4), Kurnool (394 & 6) and Krishna (367 & 5).
Karnataka’s cases on Thursday stood at 9,366, besides 93 deaths. Bengaluru Urban reported 3,799 cases, a daily high; also 34 of the 93 deaths were from Bengaluru.
Also, 72,030 tests were conducted including 32,913 rapid antigen tests. Members of Karnataka Government Doctors’ Association who threatened to stop all work except COVID-19 and other emergencies from September 21, planned to meet on Friday.
(With inputs from Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Chennai bureaus)