THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state registered 2476 cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, health minister KK Shailaja informed.

Among the new cases, 2243 persons developed the disease through contact including 175 cases without an identified source of infection.

64 persons came from abroad, while 99 persons returned from other states. 69 health workers also tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours.

1351 patients tested negative for the virus on Wednesday.

District wise break up of positive cases:
Malappuram- 352
Thiruvananthapuram- 461
Kozhikode- 215
Thrissur- 204
Alappuzha- 193
Ernakulam- 193
Palakkad- 86
Kannur- 128
Kasargod- 101
Pathanamthitta- 180
Kollam- 133
Kottayam- 137
Wayanad- 30
Idukki- 63

The state reported 13 COVID deaths on Wednesday. The total death toll is now 257.

As many as 1,89,781 people are under observation including 17,646 in hospitals. 2098 persons were admitted to hospitals in the past 24 hours.

In the past 24 hours, 40,352 samples were tested. As of today, a total of 15,25,792 samples were tested in the state.

The government declared 10 new hotspots in the state while removing 25 places from the list. Currently, there are 604 hotspots in Kerala.