THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Over five lakh COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in the state so far, health minister KK Shailaja said. So far, 5,02,719 persons tested positive for the virus. On September 11, the number of confirmed cases was one lakh. Within the next two months, this grew exponentially and reached five lakhs. In this situation, all should continue to exercise caution, the health minister said.

Of the five lakh confirmed cases, 4,22,410 patients have recovered from the virus. There are 78,420 active cases in the state. Even when the confirmed cases crossed the five lakh mark, the state reported only 1771 deaths with a fatality rate of 0.35 which is much lower than other places.

In the present situation, one can contract the virus from anyone and so, everyone should be really careful, the health minister said. People should follow the protocol put forward by the health department during the LSG polls and otherwise. All should maintain social distancing, wear masks, and wash their hands frequently. If everyone exercise caution, the spread of the virus can be controlled, the minister added.