THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state has confirmed 75 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday while 90 tested negative, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the media after a Covid review meeting here. 53 of these cases had returned from abroad while 19 had returned from other states (Maharashtra – 8, Tamil Nadu - 4, Delhi – 5, Andhra Pradesh - 1, Gujarat -1). 3 persons contracted the virus through contact, the CM said.

Among the 75 new cases, 14 are from Kollam district, 11 are from Malappuram, 9 are from Kasaragod, 8 are from Thrissur, 6 each are from Palakkad and Kozhikode, 5 are from Ernakulam, 3 each are from Thiruvananthapuram and Wayanad, 4 each are from Kottayam and Kannur while 1 each are from Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha.

The CM started the press meet by offering his condolences over the death of 20 Army bravehearts in Ladakh.

Among the 90 persons who tested negative on Wednesday, 10 are from Thiruvananthapuram district, 4 from Kollam, 5 from Pathanamthitta, 16 from Alappuzha, 3 from Kottayam, 2 from Ernakulam, 11 from Thrissur, 24 from Palakkad, 14 from Kozhikode, 1 from Kannur.

As of today, 2,697 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in the state, with 1,351 active coronavirus cases.

As of Wednesday 1,25,307 persons are under observation out of which 1,23,318 are in home/institutional quarantine while 1,989 are in hospitals. 203 persons were admitted to hospitals today, the CM said.

A total of 1,22,466 samples including augmented samples were sent for the test to date. Out of this, 3,019 results are pending. 5,874 samples were tested in the last 24 hours.

Out of the 33,559 samples collected through sentinel surveillance, 32,300 tested negative, the CM added. At present, there are 110 hotspots in the state, he said.