Kerala Reports 1,420 COVID-19 Cases, Its Highest Single-Day Surge So Far

Kerala on Saturday reported 1,420 new COVID-19 cases, the highest single day surge so far.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said at least 1,715 people were cured today, which is also the highest in a single day in the state.

"The State also reported four more deaths, which took the count to 106," he told reporters.

"Uppala native Vinodkumar (41), who passed away on August 3, Kozhikode native Sulekha (63), who passed away on August 4, Kollam native Chellappan (60), who passed away onAugust 5 and Cherthala native Purushothaman (84) who passed away on August 6 have been tested positive," he added.

He also said out of the 1,715 positive caes, 1,216 were through contacts.

"The sources of at least 92 cases are yet to be identified. As many as 60 cases reached the state from abroad while 108 reached from other states," Mr Vijayan said, adding that 30 health workers were also among the infected.

A total of 1,48,241 people are under observation in the state out of which 11,934 are under observation in various hospitals across the state.

The state also tested 27,714 samples in the last 24 hours.

The state government also categorised 13 more regions as hotspots while removing 21 regions from that list.

As of now, the state has 498 hotspots.

The Chief Minister also said the number of COVID-19 cases were increasing in Thiruvananthapuram district with a high number of contact cases.

"Today, 485 people were diagnosed with the disease in the district and of these, 435 were through contact. It shows that strong intervention is needed in the state capital to control the infection and stringent restrictions should be continued," Mr Vijayan said.

He also said the number of coronavirus cases were increasing in Thiruvananthapuram district with a high number of contact cases.

"Today, 485 people were diagnosed with the disease in the district and of these, 435 were through contact. It shows that strong intervention is needed in the state capital to control the infection and stringent restrictions should be continued," he added.

The district-wise figures of active cases from other districts - Kozhikode (173), Alappuzha (169), Malappuram (114), Ernakulam (101), Kasaragod (73), Thrissur (64), Kannur (57), Kollam and Idukki (41), Palakkad (39), Pathanamthitta (38), Kottayam (15) and Wayanad (10).

So far, 20,866 people have been cured of the virus in the State and at present, 12,109 patients are undergoing treatment.