With 46,387 Covid cases, Kerala sees highest single-day spike

KOCHI: The state on Thursday reported the highest ever single-day spike in Covid cases with 46,387 cases and highest ever test positivity rate (TPR) of 40.21%.

Even though official figures show that only 707 people in Kerala are so far confirmed to be infected with Omicron, health experts said that the increasing daily caseload suggests that the numbers are much higher than the official figure. The daily new cases have more than doubled within four days. On Monday, the state reported 22,946 new cases and TPR was 33.07%.

Meanwhile, health minister Veena George said that 62 more Omicron cases were confirmed in the state, taking the total number to 707. Of these, 483 had come from low-risk countries, 108 from high-risk countries. About 88 persons were infected through contact and 28 persons had come from other states.

Thiruvananthapuram reported the maximum number of new cases (9,720), followed by Ernakulam (9,605), Kozhikode (4,016), Thrissur (3,627), Kottayam (3,091), Kollam (3,002), Palakkad (2,268), Malappuram (2,259), Kannur (1,973), Alappuzha (1,926), Pathanamthitta (1,497), Idukki (1,441), Kasaragod (1,135) and Wayanad (827). Of these, 172 of those who tested positive were from outside the state, 43,176 persons were infected through contact. The contact source for 2,654 is not clear. As many as 385 health workers were also infected. In the last 24 hours, nearly 1,15,357 samples were tested.

Though there is a massive increase in the number of active cases --1,99,041-- hospitalisation remains low with only 3% of individuals admitted to hospitals. The growth rate of new cases has increased by 204% compared to the previous week. The number of patients currently being diagnosed, treated in hospitals, field hospitals, ICUs, ventilators and oxygen beds has increased by 201%, 70%, 126%, 48%, 14% and 64%, respectively, this week compared to the previous week.

Of 46,387 new patients, 41,046 were eligible for vaccination. Of these, 2,162 received one dose of vaccine, and 29,926 received two vaccine doses. However, 8,958 people were not reported to have received the vaccine.

The Covid death toll in the state is now 51,501. As many as 341 recent deaths were added to the list, 32 deaths in the last few days and an additional 309 deaths added as per the new guidelines of the Supreme Court.

So far, 99.8% of the eligible population have received one vaccine dose and 83% have received two doses. A total of 61% of children aged 15-18 years have been vaccinated.