Dip in testing, cases in Kerala

2,212 new cases, TPR drops to 5.81%

The steep dip in testing over the weekend is reflected in the new COVID-19 case figures of the State on Monday.

Kerala reported 2,212 new cases when testing done over the 24 hours fell to 38,103 samples. However, the test positivity rate which had been remaining more or less steady, dropped to 5.81%. The State’s cumulative case burden rose to 10,36,869.

Of the 38,103 tests, 22,187 were rapid antigen assay while the RT-PCR test numbers dipped to 14,338. Other molecular diagnostic tests like Truenat and CBNAAT constituted the remaining tests.

5,037 recoveries

The State’s active case pool, which had risen past 65,000 last week, has now dipped to 55,468 on Monday, with the State reporting recoveries more than double the number of new cases. The number of recoveries on Monday was 5,037.

The addition of 16 new deaths which took place in the past few days to the official list of COVID fatalities has taken the State’s cumulative COVID-19 toll to 4,105. Kozhikode reported three deaths, Kollam, Ernakulam and Kannur reported two each, while Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Malappuram, Pathanamthitta and Wayanad reported one death each.

Among districts, Kozhikode reported the maximum number of new cases at 374, Alappuzha 266, Ernakulam 246, Malappuram 229, Thiruvananthapuram 199, Kollam 154, Kottayam 145, Thrissur 141, Kannur 114, Pathanamthitta 97, Kasaragod 86, Palakkad 68, Wayanad 52 and Idukki 41 cases.

UK virus variant

With two more travellers from the U.K. testing positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, a total of 88 persons who reached the State from the U.K. since mid-December have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Official reports said that 72 of them have since tested negative.

So far, only 10 persons had tested positive for the virus variant B.1.1.7 first reported in UK and said to be highly transmissible.