31K fresh cases; TPR 19%; 215 deaths: Kerala's COVID spike continues

Kerala recorded 31,445 fresh COVID-19 cases and 215 deaths on Wednesday, pushing the total infection count to 38,83,429 and the overall deaths to 19,972. The last time the state crossed the 30,000 mark was on May 20 when it logged 30,491 cases.

The Test Positivity Rate (TPR) rose further on Wednesday and crossed the 19 per cent mark, according to a state government release.

After the Onam festivities, medical experts had predicted that the TPR would go beyond 20 percent and that the number of infections would rise further.

Also read: Can’t hold a gun to people’s head: Experts on Kerala’s COVID numbers

Since July 27, after the Bakrid celebrations, when COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed for a few days, Kerala has been logging more than or close to 20,000 cases almost every day.

The release further said that as many as 20,271 people have been cured of the infection since Tuesday, taking the total recoveries to 36,92,628 and the number of active cases to 1,70,292.

In the last 24 hours, 1,65,273 samples were tested and the TPR was found to be 19.03 percent. “So far, 3,06,19,046 samples have been tested,” the release said.

With 4,048 cases, Ernakulam recorded the highest number of cases among all districts, followed by Thrissur (3,865), Kozhikode (3,680), Malappuram (3,502), Palakkad (2,562), Kollam (2,479), Kottayam (2,050), Kannur (1,930) Alappuzha (1,874), Thiruvananthapuram (1,700), Idukki (1,166) Pathanamthitta (1,008) and Wayanad (962).

“Of the new cases, 123 were health workers, 138 from outside the state and 29,608 infected through contact, with the source of the contact not being clear in 1,576 cases,” the release said.

Also read: Kerala’s COVID puzzle: Despite high rate of positivity, experts not overly worried

There are currently 4,70,860 people under surveillance in various districts. Of these, 4,44,278 are in home or institutional quarantine and 26,582 in hospitals.

(With inputs from Agencies)