As total cases reach 11,659 in Kerala, CM Vijayan warns of increasing local transmission

With 593 new COVID-19 cases reported on Saturday, the total cases in Kerala reached 11,659 of which 6,416 patients are presently under treatment, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Speaking to media persons, he said that about 60 per cent of cases are through local transmission and in it there are cases where sources are unknown.

"Community spread is confirmed in two places in Thiruvananthapuram - Poonthura and Pulluvila. All have to strictly adhere to COVID-19 guidelines to break the chain. The cases through local transmission is getting higher in the state capital. In the areas identified as critical containment zones, a complete lockdown will be enforced from today midnight for ten days till July 28 midnight, " he said.

Of the cases detected today, 364 are contact cases, 116 are those who came back from overseas and 90 from other states. As many as 19 healthcare workers, one personnel each of DSC and Fire Force was also infected. There were two COVID related deaths, both from Thiruvananthapuram district. At the same time, 204 patients have recovered from the disease today.

The district-wise figures of the positive cases are 173 persons from Thiruvananthapuram district, 53 in Kollam district, 49 from Palakkad district, 44 in Ernakulam district, 42 from Alappuzha district, 39 in Kannur district, 29 from Kasaragod district, 28 each in Pathanamthitta and Idukki districts. 26 each from Kozhikode and Wayanad districts, 21 in Thrissur district, 19 from Malappuram district and 16 in Kottayam district.

There are a total of 1,73,932 persons under surveillance in various districts of the state. 1,67,091 are under home or institutional quarantine and 6,841 are under observation in hospitals. 1,053 people were admitted to the hospital today.

During the last 24 hours, 18,967 samples were tested. A total of 5,14,140 samples have so far been sent for testing and the results of 7,016 samples are awaited. Of these, 92,312 samples were collected from high-risk groups of people with more public exposure as part of Sentinel Surveillance and 87,653 samples were negative.

Twenty new places were designated as hotspots today while six were exempted from the list. Currently, there are 299 hotspots in Kerala.

( With inputs from ANI )