The State reported 19,675 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday when 1,19,594 samples were tested in the past 24 hours.
The active case pool stood at 1,61,026. In all, 1,701 people were hospitalised, but on the bright side, Kerala also reported 19,702 recoveries.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the State now had better control over the pandemic, with a 13% drop in new cases this week over the previous week. The cumulative COVID-19 death tally has risen to 24,039 with 142 more deaths added to the list.
According to the Health Department, only 13% of the active cases are in hospitals. On an average, 1,78,363 people were provided medical treatment for COVID-19 between September 15 to 21. Of this, only 2% required medical oxygen-equipped beds, while only 1% required ICU admission.
On Wednesday, the Health Department listed 841 wards in 422 local bodies with a weekly infection population ratio (WIPR) above 10. These regions will be placed under stringent COVID-management measures, the department said.
Among the districts, Ernakulam reported the highest number of new cases at 2,792; followed by Thiruvananthapuram at 2,313; Thrissur 2,266; Kozhikode 1,753; Kottayam 1,672; Malappuram 1,298; Alappuzha 1,256; Kollam 1,225; Palakkad 1,135; Pathanamthitta 1,011; Kannur 967; Idukki 927; Wayanad 738; and Kasaragod 312.
State gets more vaccine
The State has received a further allocation of 4,91,180 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, Health Minister Veena George said. This includes 4,61,180 doses of Covishield and 30,000 doses of Covaxin. Thiruvananthapuram has received a consignment of 1,56,150 doses, Ernakulam 1,81,550 and Kozhikode 1,23,480.
Till September 22, 90.57% of the population eligible for vaccination have received their first dose (2,41,91,036) and 39.07% their second dose (1,01,68,405), the Health Department said. 96% of the above-45 population have received their first dose and 56% their second dose.
