THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Nine more regions have been identified as hotspots in Kerala. Vengad and Kadannappally-Panappuzha in Kasargod, Vadanappally, Engandiyoor and Chavakkad municipality and Thrissur corporation in Thrissur, Thennala in Malappuram, Koruthode and Thrikkodithanam in Kottayam are the new hotspots in the state.

Meanwhile, 14 places were excluded from the list of hotspots on Friday. They are Paivalike and Pilicode in Kasargod, Cochin corporation in Ernakulam, Meenangadi, Thavinjal, Panamaram and Muttil in Wayanad, Neendakara and Kollam corporation in Kollam, Thooneri, Purameri, Maavoor and Olavanna in Kozhikode. At present, there are 128 hotspots in the state.

Kerala reported 78 new COVID cases on Friday. Thrissur and Malappuram accounted for 14 new cases, Alappuzha 13, Pathanamthitta 7, Ernakulam and Palakkad 5 each, Kollam, Kozhikode and Kasargod 4 each, Kottayam and Kannur 3 each, while Thiruvananthapuram and Idukki reported one case each. Among the new cases, 36 persons had returned from abroad and 31 persons had returned from other states. 10 persons developed the disease through contact.