THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja on Saturday announced that two more places have been identified as COVID hotspots in the state. The new hotspots are Naduvil and Pappinisseri in Kannur.

Meanwhile, 13 places were excluded from the list of hotspots on Saturday. They are Ottapalam municipality, Malambuzha, Marutharoad, Nagalasseri, Polpalli, Kadambazhippuram and Kottayi in Palakkad, Maloor, Peralasseri, Pinarayi, Sreekandapuram, Thalassery municipality in Kannur and East Eleri in Kasargod. At present, there are 117 hotspots in the state.

Meanwhile, 85 persons tested positive for coronavirus in the state on Saturday. Malappuram accounted for 15 positive cases, Kannur 14, Kozhikode 12, Alappuzha and Kasargod 9 each, Palakkad 8, Ernakulam 7, Idukki and Thrissur 4 each, while Pathanamthitta, Kottayam and Wayanad reported one case each.

Among the persons who tested positive on Saturday, 53 had returned from abroad (Kuwait-21, UAE-16, Saudi Arabia-7, Oman-4, Nigeria-3, Russia-2), while 18 had returned from other states (Maharashtra-6. Tamil Nadu-5, Delhi-4, Rajasthan-1, West Bengal-1, Uttar Pradesh-1). 10 persons contracted the disease through close contact.