Kerala's COVID-19 tally breaches 30,000 mark;death toll climbs to 99

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala's COVID-19 tally breached the 30,000 mark on Friday as 1,251 fresh cases were reported, including of 18 health workers, while five more deaths took the toll to 99.

Of the 30,396 positive cases, 1,061 were infected through contact, while the infection source of 73 people was not yet known, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters here.

While 77 people had come from abroad, 94 had arrived from other states, he said.

As many as 814 people have recovered from the infection.

Five districts reported over 100 cases -- Thiruvananthapuram (289), Kasaragod (168), Kozhikode (149), Malappuram (143) and Palakkad (123).

The five deathswere reported from Malappuram, Kannur, Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Alappuzha districts.

In the last 24 hours, 27,608 samples were tested, the Chief Minister said.

So far, 9,36,651 samples have been sent for testing and the results of 7,135 are awaited.

As many as 1,49,684 people are presently under observation, of whom 1,38,030 are in home/institutional quarantine and 11,654 in hospitals, including 1,570 admitted today.

As of today, there are 506 hot spots.