Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 25 (IANS): After testing 30,903 samples, Kerala on Monday reported 3,361 Covid 19 cases, while 5,606 people recovered from the disease in the past 24 hours, as per a release issued by the office of state Health Minister K.K. Shailaja.

Kerala's test positivity rate stood at 10,88 per cent on Monday. Ernakulam district reported the maximum number of cases on Monday at 487, while Kasargod reported the least number of cases at 42.

Meanwhile, 17 persons succumbed to the dreaded virus on Monday, taking the state's Covid death toll to 3,624.

Of those who tested positive on Monday, 73 persons came from outside the state, while 2,969 people contracted the disease through contact.

As many as 43 health workers tested positive on Monday -- 18 at Kannur, followed by Kozhikode (6), Ernakulam (5), Thiruvananthapuram (4), Thrissur, Palakkad and Wayanad (2 each), and Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki and Malappuram (1 each).

A total of 2,14,211 people are under observation in various parts of the state, including 12,116 persons at different hospitals.

Valiyaparambu in Kasargod district was declared a hotspot on Monday, taking the total number of hotspots in the state to 408