THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state confirmed 26,685 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. Among these, 24,596 persons developed the disease through contact including 1757 cases without an identified source of infection. 259 persons, who came from outside the state, tested positive for the virus. 73 health workers contracted the disease on Saturday.

7067 patients tested negative for the virus today. As of now, there are 1,98,576 active cases in the state.

The state confirmed 25 deaths due to the virus on Saturday with the toll rising to 5080.

District wise breakup of positive cases:

Kozhikode- 3767

Ernakulam- 3320

Malappuram- 2745

Thrissur- 2584

Thiruvananthapuram- 2383

Kottayam- 2062

Kannur- 1755

Alappuzha- 1750

Palakkad- 1512

Kollam- 1255

Pathanamthitta- 933

Kasargod- 908

Wayanad- 873

Idukki- 838

As part of the second phase of the mass testing, 2,90,262 samples were collected from different parts of the state on Wednesday and Thursday. 1,31,155 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. The test positivity rate stands at 20.35.

With the addition of 15 new regions, there are 538 hotspots in the state.