Two more UK returnees test positive: Kerala logs 5,615 new COVID-19 cases

With two more UK returnees testing postive, a total of 41 people from that country who reached here have been found infected, as the state reported 5,615 new COVID-19 cases and 24 more fatalities on Tuesday, taking the tally to 7,84,488 and the death toll to 3,184.

State health minister K K Shailaja said 4,922 people recovered from the infection today, taking the total cured in the state to 7,17,311.

The state tested 61,269 samples in the last 24 hours and the test positivity rate was 9.6 per cent. ''Two more persons who reached the state from the UK have also tested positive for COVID-19 and currently, 41 people from that country have been found infected.Their samples have been sent to NIV for further tests,'' Shailaja said.

''Out of the new positive cases today, 59 people came from outside the state while 5,037 contracted the disease from their contacts.The source of infection for 475 people are yet to be identified,'' the minister said in a release. Among those infected are 44 health workers.

''Currently, there are 63,802 people under treatment in the state, 1,90,990 people under observation of which 11,122 are in isolation wards of various hospitals,'' the minister said. Four new places were declared as new hotspots today while six areas were excluded. Currently, there are 445 hotspots in Kerala.

Among the districts, Ernakulam reported 719 new positive cases today, followed by Kottayam with 715, Pathanamthitta 665, Thrissur 616 and Kollam 435. Kasaragod reported the lowest number of cases with 58 cases.