Kerala's Covid tally touches 3,503: Situation grave, says CM

Thiruvananthapuram, June 23 (): As Kerala's COVID-19 tally touched 3,503 on Tuesday with 141 positivecases being reported and the state witnessing a spike of over 100 cases for the fifth straight day, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the situation was becoming "grave". A 68-year-old man from Kollam, who had returned from Delhi and tested positive for the virus, succumbed to the infection on Tuesday, taking the toll so far to 22.

With 60 people recovering today from the infection, those presently under treatment have touched 1,620 and 1.50 lakh people are under observation, including 2,206 in hospitals, Vijayan told reporters here.

While Pathnamthitta and Palakkad reported 27 cases each, Alappuzha 19, Thrissur 14, Ernakulam 13, Malappuram 11, Kottayam eight, Kozhikode and Kannur six cases each.

Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam had four cases each and Wayand, two.

Of the positive cases, 79 had come from abroad and 52 from other states and nine, including a health worker, were infected through contact, the Chief Minister said.

There are 111 hotspots in the state at present.

Asymptomatic cases have also been reported from many places,but experts have said there was no cause for worry.

"The situation is getting grave and along with this there are people who have tested positive and are asymptomatic.

There are some cases where we have not been able to find the source of the infection", the Chief Minister said.

In 40 per cent of positive cases in India, the source of infection has not been found, while in Kerala it is below two per cent, he said. UD APR RAVINDRANATH APR RAVINDRANATH