Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 19 (IANS): Kerala's new Covid cases crossed 4,000 for the second consecutive day on Friday, officials said.

On Friday, the state recorded 4,167, while the number of infections on Thursday was 4,351.

In a statement issued here on Friday by the State Health Minister K.K.Shailaja, "2744 people were cured of the disease."

"At present there are 35,724 active Covid cases, while 90,089 people have so far been cured. In the past 24 hours 47,723 samples was tested," said Shailaja.

Thiruvananthapuram district continue to record the maximum number of cases with 926 new cases.

In the state there are 2,16,262 people under observation at various places which includes 24,634 people in hospitals.

The state presently has 614 hotspots.

With Covid cases spiking, the Kerala High Court on Friday came down heavily on the numerous protests going on across the state, with no Covid protocols being followed, despite the court giving strict orders to the police to see that there should be no violation of Covid guidelines.

The court directed the police to see that violators to their orders should be strictly dealt with according to the provisions of the Disaster Management Act.

Kerala has been witnessing massive protests all across the state with the leading opposition parties demanding the resignation of State Higher Education Minister K.T Jaleel after he was questioned in the controversial gold smuggling case by the Enforcement Directorate and the NIA.