Kerala logs highest one-day spike of 7,006 Covid-19 cases, toll up at 656

Community healthcare volunteers check the temperature and oxygen level of slum residents during a campaign for coronavirus testing, in Mumbai on Wednesday.

: Kerala's daily

COVID-19 graph continues to surge with 7,006 new cases being reported on Saturday, taking the infection count to 1,66,939 and over 50,000 people are presently under treatment, state Health Minister K K Shailaja said.

In the last 24 hours, 58,799 samples have been tested.

The southern state has been witnessing a massive spike in daily cases since the past few days. While 6,477 cases were detected on Friday, it was 6,324 on Thursday and 5,376 on Wednesday.

The toll has climbed to656 with 21more fatalities, the minister said in a press release here.

As many as 3,199 people have recovered from the infection while 1,14,530 have been discharged so far after treatment.

In Thiruvananthapuram district, 1,050 cases were reported, followed by Malappuram (826), Ernakulam (729) and Kozhikode (684), while three districts recorded over 500 cases and two over 400 cases on Saturday.

Of the positive cases, 68 had returned from abroad and 177 from other states and 6,668 were infected through contact.

As many as 93 health workers tested positive today, the highest from Thiruvananthapuram.

At least, 2,22,330 people are under observation, including 27,883 who are in hospitals, including3,446 admitted today.

So far 27,17,040 samples have been sent for testing.