THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state confirmed 1989 COVID-19 cases on Thursday, Health Minister KK Shailaja said. Among these, 1746 persons developed the disease through contact including 153 cases without an identified source of infection. 75 persons who came from outside the state tested positive for the virus. 15 health workers contracted the disease on Thursday.

One person who returned from South Africa tested positive for the disease. So far, 102 people who returned from the UK, 5 from South Africa and 1 from Brazil tested positive for COVID-19. Among them, 11 patients have been identified with the mutant virus strain.

1865 patients tested negative for the virus today. As of now, there are 24,380 active cases in the state.

The state confirmed 12 deaths due to the virus on Thursday with the toll rising to 4539.

District wise breakup of positive cases:

Kozhikode- 301

Kannur- 205

Thiruvananthapuram- 202

Malappuram- 193

Ernakulam- 188

Kottayam- 152

Kollam- 147

Alappuzha- 110

Pathanamthitta- 101

Thrissur- 94

Kasargod- 92

Idukki- 89

Palakkad- 72

Wayanad- 43

In the last 24 hours, 51,027 samples have been tested. The test positivity rate stands at 3.9.

With the addition of 3 new regions and the removal of 4, there are 353 hotspots in the state.