THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The cardiac surgery department of Sree Chitra Medical Centre, Thiruvananthapuram has been stalled after patients and staffs tested positive for Covid-19. Seven patients admitted for the surgery and two staffs were diagnosed with the virus. Following that, the cardiac surgery department has been closed. Only emergency surgeries will be performed in the neurosurgery department. Patients and staff will be subjected to further tests.

Meantime, the number of Covid patients in the state is rising. 18,257 were diagnosed with the disease yesterday. It was 13,835 on the previous day. Within 24 hours, there was an increase of 4,422 patients. This is a state record in the number of patients per day. The test positivity rate is 16.77 %. 25 more deaths were confirmed due to Covid. The situation is complicated due to the rush of patients in Covid wards including in medical colleges.

More than 2.61 lakh cases were reported in India yesterday. India has the highest number of patients per day in the world. 1501 people died in 24 hours across the country. The rapidly spreading and deadly, genetically modified variant has been reported in several samples across the country. The shortage of vaccine and oxygen in the country is a setback to both preventive and treatment measures.