THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state has confirmed 65 new coronavirus positive cases on Wednesday, health minister KK Shailaja said. Of the new cases, 10 are in Kozhikode, 9 in Thrissur(one died), 7 in Malappuram, six each in Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad, four each in Kollam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Wayanad and Kannur, three each in Pathanamthitta and Kottayam, and one in Alappuzha.

Among the new cases, 34 persons had returned from abroad (UAE-22, Kuwait-4, Oman-3, Nigeria-2, Russia-2, Saudi Arabia-1), 25 persons had returned from other states (Maharashtra-9, Tamil Nadu-9, Delhi-3, Karnataka-1, Arunachal Pradesh-1, Gujarat-1, Uttar Pradesh-1). Five persons developed the disease through contact-two each in Thrissur and Thiruvananthapuram and one in Kozhikode.

The sample of Kumaran (87), who died on 07.06.2020 in Thrissur, was sent for testing at NIV Alappuzha. He was confirmed with COVID-19 on Wednesday. Including this, the total number of coronavirus deaths in Kerala has risen to 17.

Meanwhile, 57 coronavirus patients tested negative for the disease on Wednesday. 13 of these patients are in Kannur, 11 in Kasaragod, seven in Alappuzha, six each in Pathanamthitta and Wayanad, four in Kollam, three each in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam, and two each in Kottayam and Ernakulam.

As of today, there are 1238 patients under treatment for the viral disease at various hospitals in Kerala. 905 persons recovered from the disease.

A total of 2,07,194 persons came to Kerala through various channels (airports-53,545, sea port-1621, check posts-1,28,732, railway-23,296). There are 2,10,592 persons under observation in the state with 2,08,748 at home/institutional quarantine and 1884 at hospitals. 206 persons were admitted to hospitals on Wednesday.

In the past 24 hours, 4689 samples were sent for testing. As of Wednesday, 98,304 samples of individuals(including augmented samples) were sent for testing. Of the available results, 93,475 are negative.

As part of sentinel surveillance, 24,508 samples of persons in priority group were sent for testing. Of this, 22,950 samples returned with negative results.

Including 6,364repeat samples, a total of 1,31,006 samples were tested so far.

Five new hotspots were declared on Wednesday-Aathavanadu in Malappuram, Aymanam, Madappally, Idayirikkappuzha in Kottayam, and Valiyaparambu in Kasaragod. Currently, there are 163 hotspots in the state.