Kerala and Karnataka together added 37 fatalities to the COVID-19 toll as of Tuesday, and Bengaluru remained a city of concern as fresh positive cases were close to 2,000.
In Kerala, 2,389 new cases were reported when 58,557 samples were tested. The test positivity rate (TPR) was 4.08%.
The addition of 16 more deaths that took place in the past few days to the official list on Tuesday took the cumulative toll to 4,606. District-wise, Alappuzha reported three deaths, while Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Kozhikode and Kannur reported two each and Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Malappuram and Wayanad one each.
Kozhikode district reported the maximum of 325 new cases, followed by Ernakulam 283, Malappuram 250, Kannur 248, Thiruvananthapuram 225, Thrissur 208, Kottayam 190, Kollam 171, Idukki 95, Palakkad 91, Alappuzha 83, Kasaragod 80, Wayanad 78 and Pathanamthitta 62 cases.
Karnataka reported 2,975 new cases and 21 related fatalities, the Health department said on Tuesday when 1,06,917 samples were tested. Bengaluru Urban accounted for 1,984 fresh cases.
Of 25,541 active cases, 25,301 patients were in isolation at designated hospitals, while 240 were in ICUs.
Among the 21 new deaths, Bengaluru Urban accounted for 11, Mysuru three, Bengaluru Rural two, and Bidar, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Kalaburagi and Mandya one each.
Kalaburagi accounted for 156 cases, Mysuru 111, Bidar 102, and Bengaluru Rural 66.
Andhra Pradesh added 993 infections on Tuesday. Three persons succumbed to the virus in Guntur, Krishna and Visakhapatnam districts.
During the 24-hour period when 30,851 samples were tested, the TPR was 3.2%.
A majority (72%) of the new infections were reported in four districts, while nine districts reported not more than 50 cases.
Guntur reported the highest single-day tally of 198 cases, followed by Chittoor (179), Krishna (176), Visakhapatnam (169), Anantapur (49), Srikakulam (45), Kurnool (37), Nellore (35), Prakasam (30), East Godavari (29), Kadapa (18), Vizianagaram (16) and West Godavari (12).
Telangana recorded 463 cases and four deaths on Monday. A total of 42,461 persons were tested.
The 463 cases include 145 from Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation region, 46 from Medchal Malkajgiri, 28 from Rangareddy, 23 from Nizamabad, and 20 from Jagtial.
Arjita sevas in the Sri Lakshminarasimha Swamy temple at Yadadri were suspended from April 1 to 3. The decision was taken after a few employees tested positive last week. More than 70 people, including archakas and staff members, tested positive.
But devotees would be allowed to have Laghu darshanam.
The first dose of COVID-19 vaccination was given to 12,565 people on Monday, including 6,905 persons aged over 60, and 4,602 in the 45-59 year age group with co-morbidities, 828 workers and 230 frontline workers.
(With inputs from Bengaluru, Vijayawada, Hyderabad & PTI)
