Kerala posts 3,277 new COVID-19 cases, 168 deaths

Thiruvananthapuram: Fresh COVID-19 cases dipped to 3,277 in Kerala on Monday, taking the caseload to 51,57,369, the state government said.

The state had recorded 4,450 COVID-19 cases on Sunday.

The number of deaths reported in the state on Monday was 168, of which 30 were logged over the last few days and 138 were designated as COVID-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court, an official press release said.

With 5,833 more people recovering from the virus since Sunday, the total recoveries reached 50,86,044 and the active cases dropped to 40,730, the release said.

As many as 45,412 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, it said.

Among the 14 districts, Ernakulam recorded the highest with 568 fresh cases followed by Kozhikode (503) and Thiruvananthapuram (482).

Of the new cases, 25 were health workers, nine from outside the state and 3,056 infected through contact with the source of it not being clear in 187.

There are currently 1,66,787 people under surveillance in various districts, of whom 1,62,029 are in home or institutional quarantine and 4,758 in hospitals, the release said.