Kerala clocks 8,538 new COVID cases, 363 deaths

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala on Sunday recorded 8,538 fresh coronavirus cases, and 363 related deaths which raised the caseload to 49,06,125 and toll to 28,592.

Of the 363 deaths, 71 were reported in the last few days, 211 were those which were not confirmed until June 18 last year due to lack of adequate documentation and 81 were designated as COVID deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and Supreme Court directions, a state government release said.

With 11,366 more people recovering from the virus since Saturday, the total recoveries touched 48,08,775 and the active cases dropped to 77,363, the release said.

As many as 79,100 samples were tested in the last 24 hours.

Among the 14 districts, Ernakulam recorded the highest with 1,481 cases, followed by Thiruvananthapuram 1,210 and Thrissur 852.

Of the new cases, 42 were health workers, 32 from outside the state and 8,212 infected through contact with the source of it not being clear in 252.

There are currently 2,69,881 people under surveillance in various districts, of whom 2,61,252 are in home or institutional quarantine and 8,629 in hospitals.