Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 2 (IANS): Kerala recorded 5,328 new coronavirus cases on Saturday even as 4,985 more patients recovered in the last 24 hours, Health Minister KK Shailaja's office said. Twenty-one more fatalities took the state's death toll to 3,116.

As many as 65,374 people are undergoing corona treatment in the state at present.

Ernakulam district led with 743 new cases, whereas Kasargod with 83 cases was at the lowest position. The positivity rate of Kerala is 9.85 per cent.

Of the 5,328 new cases, 78 emerged outside the state. As many as 4,801 persons tested positive after contact with corona patients while the source of contact of 392 patients was yet unknown.

Fifty-seven health workers tested positive on Saturday, followed by Ernakulam with 14, Thrissur with eight, Pathanamthitta with seven, Kozhikode with five, and Kollam, Kottayam and Kannur with four cases each, Thiruvananthapuram with three, and Palakkad, Wayanad and Kasargod with two cases each, and Idukki and Malappuram with one case each.

As many as 2,40,490 persons are under observation in Kerala, including 2,28,679 in home or institutional quarantine and 11,811 in hospitals.

Six new corona hotspots on Saturday took the total to 448, an official release said.