For the fourth consecutive day, Kerala has registered a dip in new COVID-19 cases by at least 1,000 cases indicating that the Onam lull was really affecting the State's current epidemic picture.
On Thursday, testing went up slightly and 30,342 samples were tested, yielding 1,553 new cases. The number of recoveries registered on the same day exceeded the new cases at 1,950.
The cumulative case burden stands at 79,625, now that a total recovery of 57,732 has been registered so far. The number of patients currently undergoing treatment in hospitals across the State is 21,516.
Ten more deaths which occurred in the State between August 26-29 and confirmed by the State Health Department on Thursday as COVID deaths have taken the toll to 315. Seven of these deaths were reported from Thiruvananthapuram and the rest from Ernakulam, Palakkad and Kannur.
Even when the total case numbers registered a dip, there is no let up in community transmission as 92% of the new cases reported on Thursday – 1,435 out of the new 1,553 cases – turned out to be locally acquired infections. Health-care workers affected amongst these cases number 40 and 15 of them being in Thiruvananthapuram. In 156 cases, there is no known source of infection.
Thiruvananthapuram district continues to hold the top place in reporting the maximum number of cases and had 317 new cases in its account on Thursday. All except three are locally acquired infections.
Ernakulam reported 164 cases, Kottayam 160, Kasaragod 133, Kozhikode 131, Pathanamthitta 118, Thrissur 93, Malappuram 91, Alappuzha 87, Kannur 74, Kollam 65, Palakkad 58, Idukki 44 and Wayanad 18.
There are 569 hotspots in the State at present.
