THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday informed that 94 more persons have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the state. So far, this is the highest single day spike recorded by the state ever since it reported its first COVID case in January.

Of the newly infected persons, 47 had returned from abroad while 37 had returned from other states. 7 persons contracted the disease through contact. Pathanamthitta accounted for 14 new cases, Kasargod 12, Kollam 11, Kozhikode 10, Alappuzha and Malappuram 8 each, Palakkad 7, Kannur 6, Thiruvananthapuram and Kottayam 5 each, Thrissur 4 while Ernakulam and Wayanad reported 2 cases each.

Meanwhile, the state reported 3 COVID-19 deaths on Thursday. The deceased have been identified as Malappuram native Shabnas, Palakkad native Meenakshi Amma and Kollam native Xavier. The CM also added that 39 patients tested negative for the virus on Thursday.

"A total of 1,70,065 people are under observation in the state out of which, 1,487 are in hospital," the CM added.