THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state has confirmed 108 new coronavirus positive cases on Saturday. Of the new cases, 19 are in Kollam, 16 in Thrissur, 12 in Malappuram and Kannur, 11 in Palakkad, 10 in Kasaragod, nine in Pathanamthitta, four each in Alappuzha and Kozhikode, three each in Thiruvananthapuram, Idukki and Ernakulam and two in Kottayam.

Among the new cases, 64 persons returned from abroad (UAE-28, Kuwait-14, Tajikistan-13, Saudi Arabia-4, Nigeria-3, Oman-1, Ireland-1), 34 persons returned from other states (Maharashtra-15, Delhi-8, Tamil Nadu-5, Gujarat-4, Madhya Pradesh-1, Andhra Pradesh-1). 10 persons developed the disease through contact.

The state reported one more coronavirus death on Saturday-Hamsakoya(61), former footballer and a native of Parappanangadi.

Meanwhile, 50 coronavirus patients tested negative for the disease on Saturday. 30 of these patients are in Palakkad, while seven are in Kozhikode (six Air India staff), six in Ernakulam (two Kollam natives), five in Kannur, and one each in Idukki and Kasaragod.

As of today, there are 1029 patients under treatment for the viral disease at various hospitals in Kerala. 762 persons recovered from the disease.

A total of 1,79,294 persons came to Kerala through various channels (airports-43,901, sea port-1621, check posts-1,17,232,railway-16,540). There are 1,83,097 persons under observation in the state with 1,81,482 in home/institutional quarantine and 1615 at hospitals. 284 persons were admitted to hospitals on Saturday.

In the past 24 hours, 3903 samples were sent for testing. As of Saturday, 81,517 samples(including augmented samples) were sent for testing. Of the available results, 77,517 are negative.

As part of sentinel surveillance, 20,769 samples of persons in priority group were sent for testing. Of this, 19,597 samples returned with negative results.

Including 5,510 repeat samples, a total of 1,07,796 samples were tested so far.

10 new hotspots were declared on Saturday-Puthupariyaram, Kannadi, Vandazhi, Vadakkancherry, Punkottukavu, Thenkara, Pirayiri, and Kollankode in Palakkad, Neendakara in Kollam and Olavanna in Kozhikode. Currently, there are 138 hotspots in the state.