Coronavirus cases increased steeply in Kerala on Wednesday, with the state registering 34,199 new infections in the past 24 hours, The Indian Express reported. The new cases on Wednesday were 20.07% higher than Tuesday’s count of 28,481 cases.
The test positivity rate also increased to 37.17% from 35.27% a day earlier.
On Wednesday, Thiruvananthapuram had the highest number of cases in the state (5,684) and a positivity rate of 45.8%. High test positivity rates were also reported from the districts of Ernakulam (44.59%), Kozhikode (40.53%) and Kottayam (39.05%).
Kerala Health Minister Veena George said that the next three weeks will be crucial for the state. “In sharp contrast to the first and second waves, in which the state had delayed the peak of the pandemic, cases are spiking alarmingly in the initial stage of the third wave itself,” she said, according to The Indian Express.
Schools in the state will remain closed starting from January 21, and a decision on closing colleges is expected to be taken in a meeting on Thursday.
Delhi registers spike in cases
Coronavirus cases also increased in Delhi, with the Capital registering 13,785 new infections on Wednesday, ANI reported. The new cases on Wednesday were 17.98% higher than Tuesday’s count of 11,684 cases.
The number of tests conducted in the capital was higher on Wednesday (57,776) than on Tuesday (52,002).
Delhi recorded 35 deaths due to the disease on Wednesday, and the case fatality rate in the city is 1.46%.
The Capital currently has 75,282 active Covid cases, and 16,580 people recovered from the disease in the past 24 hours.
Cases dip in Mumbai
Mumbai on Wednesday recorded 6,032 new Covid-19 cases and 12 deaths. The new cases were marginally lower than Tuesday’s figure of 6,149 infections.
The number of cases decreased even as the number of tests conducted increased substantially in the past day. A total of 60,291 cases were conducted in Mumbai in the past 24 hours, as compared to 47,700 on Tuesday.
Mumbai currently has 31,856 active Covid-19 cases.
A total of 538 persons were hospitalised due to the coronavirus in the past day, out of whom 103 required oxygen support. Out of the total available beds in the city, 13.3% are currently occupied.
Karnataka also reports dip in cases
Covid-19 cases decreased to 40,499 in Karnataka from 41,457 a day earlier, ANI reported. Twenty-people died of the coronavirus on Wednesday, and 23,209 recovered from the disease.
The district of Bengaluru Urban alone accounted for 24,135 cases, followed by Tumakuru (1,804) and Hassan (1,785).
The test positivity rate in Karnataka was 18.80% on Wednesday, while the case fatality rate was 0.05%.
The state currently has 2,67,650 active coronavirus cases.
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