Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 6 (IANS): Kerala on Saturday reported 5,942 new Covid-19 cases, while 6,178 persons recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours. At present, 67,543 people are under treatment at different hospitals across the state.

A total of 82,804 samples were tested on Saturday with a test positivity rate of 7.8 per cent.

Ernakulam continued to report the maximum number of cases at 898, while Kasargod reported the least number of cases at 62.

Meanwhile, 16 deaths were reported on Saturday, taking the state's Covid death toll to 3,848.

Ninety-eight persons who tested positive on Saturday came from outside the state, while 5,420 persons contracted the disease through contact.

Thirty healthcare workers tested positive on Saturday, 7 in Kannur, 5 in Kozhikode, 4 each in Kollam and Ernakulam, 3 in Thiruvananthapuram, 2 each in Thrissur, Palakkad and Malappuram, and 1 in Idukki.

As many as 2,19,050 persons are under observation in the state at present, including 2,08,113 under home/institutional quarantine, while 10,937 persons are under observation at various hospitals in the state.

Thirteen new hotspots were added to the state's tally on Saturday, taking the total number of hotspots in Kerala to 434.