Kerala reported 20,772 new cases of coronavirus on Friday, taking the total active case tally in the state to 1,60,824. The test positivity rate in the state stands at 13.61 per cent.
The state also registered 116 fatalities in the past 24 hours. With this, the death toll in Kerala climbed to 16,701.
As many as 14,651 people recovered from the virus during the same time period, taking total recoveries to 31,92,104.
Meanwhile, Karnataka and capital Bengaluru today recorded a steep spike in Covid cases.
In the last 24 hours, 1,52,639 samples were tested for Covid-19 in the state.
The Kerala Health Minister Veena George said, “The second wave started in Kerala in mid-April and on May 12, we had more than 43,500 cases. And then, the number of cases started declining, and we entered a plateau. We're still going through that phase. Our test positivity rate (TPR) is around 12 per cent.”
She further added, “This was the case in the first wave, too. In January, we reported the maximum number of cases -- almost 50 per cent -- in India. In Kerala, no patients died without oxygen, hospital beds or ICU facilities. Even in this phase, hospital occupancy is low. As I told you, we have a high testing rate and we're doing targeted testing. Cases rose because of the Delta variant.”
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As per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's press statement, it was also underlined that any laxity at this stage will result in the deterioration of the situation in these districts.
Dr Balram Bhargava, DG ICMR and Secretary (DHR), was also present during the meeting and warned against any complacency with around 40,000 cases being reported daily since the preceding weeks.
He highlighted that 46 districts in India are showing more than 10% positivity while another 53 districts are showing a positivity between 5%-10%.