Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 18 (PTI) Kerala on Saturday reported 6,757 fresh COVID-19 cases and 524 fatalities and took the caseload to 64,63,563 and 64,053 respectively.

Also Read | Gujarat: Man Duped of Rs 55,000 by 'Tinder Date' in Junagadh.

Of the deaths, 16 were reported in the last 24 hours, 96 occurred in the last few days but were not recorded due to late receipt of documents and 412 were designated as COVID-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court, said a press release.

Also Read | Hijab Row: Ban Orders Around Schools, Colleges Extended in Dakshina Kannada Till February 26.

With 17,086 more people recovering from the virus since Friday, the total recoveries reached 63,23,697.

As the number of recoveries were more than the new cases, the active cases dropped to 75,017, the release said.

A total of 62,301 samples were tested in the last 24 hours.

Among the 14 districts, Ernakulam recorded the highest with 1,462 cases, Thiruvananthapuram (750) and Kozhikode (653), the release said.

Of the new cases, 50 were health workers, 44 from outside the State and 6,314 infected through contact with the source of it not being clear in 349, the release said.

There are currently 1,80,392 under surveillance in various districts, of whom 1,76,266 are in home or institutional quarantine and 4,126 in hospitals, the release said.

(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)