KOCHI: The test positivity rate (TPR) has jumped to 26.95%, with Kerala reporting 17,755 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday. With this, the state is now witnessing a 166% increase in the growth rate of new Covid cases when compared to the previous week.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Veena George on Saturday informed that 48 more people have tested positive for Omicron taking the state tally to 528. Of the total cases, 365 came from low-risk countries, 92 from high-risk countries, 61 were primary contacts and 10 came from other states.
Of the 17,755 Covid cases, Thiruvananthapuram reported maximum cases — 4,694, followed by Ernakulam (2,637), Thrissur (1,731), Kozhikode (1,648), Kottayam (1,194), Pathanamthitta (863), Kannur (845, Palakkad (835), Kollam (831), Alappuzha (765), Malappuram (728), Idukki (417), Kasaragod (317) and Wayanad (240).
A majority of the people —16,488— had contracted the virus through contact. A total of 65,937 samples were tested in the last 24 hours.
Now 1,95,338 people are under observation in the state. Out of this, 1,91,286 people are in home or institutional quarantine and 4,052 people are in hospitals.
Among the active Covid cases reported, only 4% of the patients required hospital admission.
Meanwhile, the state reported 106 deaths — 17 new Covid deaths and 89 deaths that were newly certified as Covid-19 deaths based on the revised rules as per SC guidelines. With this, the death toll in the state is now 50,674.
