Kerala records 2,540 new COVID-19 cases, 2,110 recoveries

Kerala recorded 2,540 new COVID-19 cases and 2,110 recoveries on Monday.

Of Monday's cases, 2,346 contracted the disease through contact. Among them, the source of infection of 212 is yet to be traced, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said during his evening briefing. Thirty-four of the newly-infected came from abroad while 73 came from other states.

There are 64 health workers among the new infections.

Fifteen COVID deaths were also confirmed in the state taking the official toll to 454.

The state has reported 110,818 COVID-19 cases so far, out of which 79,813 persons recovered. The remaining 30,486 patients are being treated in various hospitals.

Key points from CM's press meet

• The next step in this ongoing phase of unlock is to see public transport facilities restored. This is likely to trigger a spike in COVID numbers. Even now, the spread of COVID is rampant. For 5 days in a row, the number of people who tested positive across the country has been 90,000+. Even in our neighbouring states, the COVID spread is high.

• We are doing about 30k tests these days. Efforts are on to see at least 50,000 tests done each day.

• 194 Covid First-line Treatment Centres (CFLTC) are functioning across the state. Here, the services of specialist doctors are sought via tele-medicine programs.

• A COVID Brigade has been formed to mitigate the threats posed by COVID and curb its spread. It is made up of doctors, nurses and health workers working at CFLTC and volunteers who signed up through the portal. They will be assigned to places where the ratio of healthcare workers to people is less. 

• Schools are unlikely to open in September-October, the CM said.

• CM flayed Opposition's attempt to create havoc in the state. He reprimanded those involved in the incident when K T Jaleel's car was stopped and the minister ostracised. Strict action will be taken against all involved. The police has been given instructions to do so.

Here's the district-wise break-up of today's cases:

Malappuram - 482 (contact cases - 457)
Kozhikode - 382 (377)
Thiruvananthapuram - 332 (313)
Ernakulam - 255 (214)
Kannur - 232 (192)
Palakkad - 175 (156)
Thrissur - 161 (155)
Kollam - 142 (130)
Kottayam - 122 (121)
Alappuzha - 107 (104)
Idukki - 58 (49)
Kasaragod - 56 (49)
Wayanad - 20 (14)
Pathanamthitta - 16 (15)

District-wise break-up of today's recoveries:

Thiruvananthapuram - 415
Kollam - 165
Pathanamthitta - 103
Alappuzha - 198
Kottayam - 121
Idukki - 25
Ernakulam - 125
Thrissur - 140
Palakkad - 93
Malappuram - 261
Kozhikode - 123
Wayanad - 76
Kannur - 135
Kasaragod – 130

Testing & quarantine

There are 2,05,158 people under observation across the state. Of them, 1,82,241 are under home/institutional quarantine while 22,917 are in hospitals. As many as 2,213 were admitted in hospitals on Thursday. 

So far, 21,52,585 samples were tested in the state. A total of 22,279samples were tested in 24 hours. In addition, as part of Sentinel Surveillance, 1,89,265 more samples were tested from priority groups.

Seventeen new regions were designated as hotspots in the state while nine regions have been excluded from the list. There are currently 615 hotspots in the state.