Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 22 (PTI) Kerala on Tuesday recorded 702 fresh COVID-19 infections which raised the total caseload in the state to 65,28,391.

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The southern state also reported 52 virus-related deaths that raised the total fatalities in Kerala to 67,415, according to a government release.

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Of the deaths, four were reported in the last 24 hours, nine were those which occurred in the last few days but were not recorded due to late receipt of documents and 39 were designated as COVID-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court, the release said.

With 730 more people recovering from the virus since Monday, the total recoveries in the state reached 64,54,752 and the active cases dropped to 5,353, the release said.

As many as 24,313 samples were tested in the last 24 hours.

Among the 14 districts, Ernakulam recorded the highest with 146 cases, followed by Thiruvananthapuram (87) and Kottayam (76), the release said.

Of the new cases, eight were health workers and 663 infected through contact with the source of infection not yet clear in 31, the release said.

There are currently 17,541 people under surveillance in various districts, of whom 16,944 are in home or institutional quarantine and 597 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)