Kerala registered 4,538 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, with the State testing 36,027 samples over the last 24 hours.
The dip in cases was in proportion to the dip in testing over the weekend by 20,000-odd samples. However, with disease transmission intensifying across the State, test positivity rate continues to remain at a high of 12.59%.
The cumulative case burden of the State rose to 1,79,922 cases. With the total recoveries reaching 1,21,268, the number of COVID-19 patients currently in hospitals across the State is 57,879. Of these, 387 patients are critically ill and being treated in ICUs and another 98 on ventilatory support
20 more deaths
Another 20 deaths were added to the State’s official COVID-19 toll on Monday, taking the cumulative number to 697. Kozhikode accounted for five of these deaths, Kasaragod four, three each were reported in Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, and Malappuram and two in Alappuzha.
Ninety-five per cent of the new cases reported in the State — 4,325 out of the new 4,538 cases — continues to be locally acquired infections. The source of infection could not be traced in 249 cases. The number of health workers who contracted COVID-19 was 67, with Kannur reporting 20 cases and Thiruvananthapuram, 17.
Kozhikode reported the highest number of cases for the second consecutive day at 918, Ernakulam 537, Thiruvananthapuram 486, Malappuram 405, Thrissur 383, Palakkad 378, Kollam 341, Kannur 310, Alappuzha 249, Kottayam 213, Kasaragod 122, Idukki 114, Wayanad 44, and Pathanamthitta 38.
The number of hotspots in the State at present is 660.
