Kerala Clocks 41,668 Fresh Infections, 33 Fatalities. Records 206% Spike In Cases In One Week

<p><strong>New Delhi:</strong> Witnessing a spike in Covid cases by 206% as compared to last week, Kerala on Friday logged 41,668 fresh infections and 33 fatalities over the last 24 hours.</p> <p>According to a report on India Today, the state capital Thiruvananthapuram topped the daily Covid chart with 7,896 cases followed by Ernakulam with 7,339, Kozhikode 4,143, Thrissur 3667, Kottayam 3182, Kollam 2660, Palakkad 2345, Wayanad 850 and Kasaragod with 563 fresh infections.</p> <p>Over the last 24 hours, the state also clocked 54 cases of the new Covid variant, <a title="Omicron" href="https://ift.tt/3mmXBR2" data-type="interlinkingkeywords">Omicron</a>.</p> <p>With the massive spike, the number of patients under treatment has risen by 201% and the number of those who had to be hospitalised has shot up by 80%.</p> <p>Those in field hospitals rose by 126%, ICU and ventilator occupancy increased by 56% and 18% respectively. The number of Covid patients needing oxygen supply has also seen a 77% rise as compared to the previous week.</p> <p>As many as 95,218 samples were tested over the last 24 hours.</p> <p>Meanwhile, amid the surge, the Centre asked the Kerala government to clarify over its mechanism of reporting Covid deaths saying that the daily reconciliation of a large number fatalities has been misleading the Covid scenario, affecting the planning of public health response.</p> <p>In a letter to the state government, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that Kerala reported 20,563 reconciled Covid deaths since October 22 last year.</p> <p>The state has been consistently releasing data on reconciled deaths since October 22 last year, and &lsquo;a total of 20,563 reconciled deaths so far have been reported by Kerala&rsquo;, Bhushan said in his letter addressed to Principal Secretary (Health) Rajan N Khobragade.</p> <p>"It is not clear if these are over and above the deaths reported so far or there is an overlap," Bhushan said, as per the India Today report.</p> <p>Meanwhile, the state Health Minister Veena George on Friday said that 100% of the targeted population above the age of 18 years have been administered the first dose of Covid vaccine and 83% of the total population have got both the doses.</p>

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