Kerala’s cumulative case burden of COVID-19 cases rose to 10,64,279, with the State reporting 2,938 new cases on Tuesday, when 68,094 samples were tested in the past 24 hours.

The test positivity rate that dropped below 5% for the first time on Monday, stayed at 4.31% on Tuesday.

Of the 68,094 tests done by the State, 38,449 were rapid antigen assay while the RT-PCR test numbered 26,951. Other molecular diagnostic tests like Truenat, CBNAAT, constituted the remaining tests.

The State has been reporting significantly higher number of recoveries than new cases since the past several days, helping the active case pool drop steadily. On Tuesday, with 3,512 persons reported to have recovered from their disease, the active case pool dropped to 47,277. The cumulative recoveries reported by the State ever since the pandemic began thus rose to 10,12, 484 cases.

The addition of 16 new deaths that took place last week in the State to the official list of COVID-19 fatalities in the State on Tuesday has taken the State’s cumulative COVID toll till date to 4,226 deaths.

Thrissur reported four deaths, Thiruvananthapuram, Malappuram and Kannur two each, while Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Kozhikode reported one death each.

The number of critically ill COVID patients in the State who are currently being treated in ICUs in various hospitals in the State is 635 as on Tuesday, according to official reports, with 196 of them requiring ventilator assistance.

Among districts, Thrissur reported the maximum number of new cases with 354 cases, Malappuram 344, Kozhikode 334, Ernakulam 306, Kollam 271, Pathanamthitta 238, Kannur 225, Kottayam 217, Thiruvananthapuram 190, Alappuzha 161, Palakkad 99, Kasaragod 80, Idukki 62 and Wayanad 57 cases.

Foreign travellers

One person who reached Kerala from South Africa in the past 24 hours, has tested positive for COVID-19.

With this, a total of 95 persons who reached the State from abroad, all except one from UK, since mid-December tested positive for COVID-19. Official reports said 82 of them had since tested negative.

So far, 11 persons, including one contact of a UK returnee, tested positive for the virus variant B.1.1.7 in the State.

EOM