18,531 fresh Covid cases, 98 deaths in Kerala; positivity rate below 12%

Kerala on Saturday

recorded 18,531 fresh COVID-19 cases pushing the infection count to 32,54,064, with the test positivity rate (TPR) falling to below 12 per cent.

The TPR had crossed 11 per cent on July 19 after remaining below it for several weeks and had continued to rise till 13.63 per cent, on July 23.

The number of people who succumbed to the virus rose to 15,969 with 98 more deaths.

As many as 15,507 people have been cured of the infection, taking the total recoveries to 30,99,469 and the number of active cases in the state to 1,38,124, a state government release said.

In the last 24 hours, 1,55,568 samples were tested and the Test Positivity Rate (TPR) was found to be 11.91 per cent.

So far, 2,61,06,272 samples have been tested, it said.

Some of the worst affected districts in the state are Malappuram (2,816), Thrissur (2,498), Kozhikode (2,252), Ernakulam (2,009), Palakkad (1,624), Kollam (1,458), Thiruvananthapuram (1,107), Kannur (990) and Alappuzha (986).

Of the new cases, 74 are health workers, 113 had come from outside the state and 17,538 were infected through contact with the source of contact being not clear in 806 cases, the release said.

There are currently 4,24,351 people under surveillance in various districts of the state.

Of these, 3,98,407 are in home or institutional quarantine and 25,944 in hospitals.

There are 626 areas in the state with a TPR of more than 10 per cent, the release said.