Thiruvananthapuram, August 24: Kerala on Tuesday reported 24,296 COVID-19 cases and 173 deaths, pushing the total infection count to 38,51,984 and fatalities to 19,757 till date. The Test Positivity Rate (TPR) jumped to 18.04 per cent from 15.63 per cent on Monday.

As many as 19,349 people have been cured of the infection since Monday, taking the total recoveries to 36,72,357 and the number of active cases to 1,59,335, an official press release here said. Also Read | Bihar: Liquor Smuggler Ordered to Look After 5 Children’s Education and Strictly Asked to Follow Prohibition Law.

In the last 24 hours, 1,34,706 samples were tested and the TPR was found to be 18.04 per cent. So far, 3,04,53,773 samples have been tested, it said. Also Read | Punjab: Sugarcane Farmers End Agitation After CM Amarinder Singh Announces Rs 360 per Quintal As Prices.

Among districts, Ernakulam recorded the highest with 3,149 cases followed by Thrissur (3,046), Kozhikode (2,875), Malappuram (2,778), Palakkad (2,212), Kollam (1,762), Kottayam (1,474), Thiruvananthapuram (1,435), Kannur (1,418), Alappuzha (1,107) and Pathanamthitta (1,031).

Of the new cases, 90 are health workers, 118 from outside the state and 22,775 infected through contact, with the source of the contact not being clear in 1,313 cases, the release said.

There are currently 4,67,051 people under surveillance in various districts. Of these, 4,41,012 are in home or institutional quarantine and 26,039 in hospitals.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)