Total 80 patients under treatment

Thiruvananthapuram, May 15: 16 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in Kerala today. Five persons from Wayanad district, four in Malappuram district, two each from Alappuzha and Kozhikode districts, and one each in Kollam, Palakkad and Kasargod districts are those who have tested positive.

Seven of them have come back from overseas – four from UAE, two from Kuwait and one from Saudi Arabia. Six have returned from other States – four from Tamil Nadu and two from Maharashtra. Three cases have got infected through primary contact.

Meanwhile, no patient under treatment for Coronavirus has recovered today. The total number of Covid-19 cases in the State is 576 and 80 patients are currently under treatment in different hospitals with Wayanad district having the maximum of 19 patients.

48,825 persons are presently under surveillance in different districts across the State now. Out of these, 48,287 are quarantined at their homes and 538 are under isolation in hospitals. 122 persons were hospitalised today, the highest number being 36 in Malappuram district followed by 17 in Kozhikode district and 16 in Kasargod district.

Till date, 42,201 samples have been sent for testing and 40,639 samples have been confirmed with no infection. As part of sentinel surveillance of high exposure group, 4,630 samples were collected separately and tested. Of these, 4,424 samples have tested negative.

As of now, there are 16 hotspots in Kerala.

After giving the details about the Covid situation in the State, Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan said, “There is a concern among all with the increase in cases. We should be more careful and reduce the chances of the virus spread by local contact. Social distancing and other safety measures are important and should be followed strictly. Those in quarantine should not move out for any reason. Today, the Police have registered 65 cases against those violating quarantine conditions.