Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 21 (IANS): There seems to be no respite from Covid in Kerala, as on Wednesday, 17,481 people turned out positive from 1,45,993 samples sent for testing in the past 24 hours, and the daily test positivity rate (TPR) rose to 11.97 per cent, as per a government statement.

The state continues to have one of the highest levels of daily cases, TPR and active cases, which stood at 1,29,640 on Wednesday, in the country.

According to a statement issued by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Malappuram district had the highest daily number of cases, at 2,318, followed by Ernakulam with 2,270, Kozhikode with 2,151, Trissur at 1983, and the state capital district had 1,166.

There were 105 fresh deaths, taking the total death tally to 15,617.

Across the state, there were 4,06,370 people under observation, including 25,054 people in hospitals.

With the second session of the Assembly set to commence from Thursday, the Congress-led opposition is all set to raise why Kerala is at the receiving edge, after claiming to have been the best state in the country in containing Covid, which incidentally was one of the major highlights in Vijayan's campaign for the April 6 Assembly polls.

Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan has, time and again, taken on Vijayan for having taken a totally different stand before and after the Assembly polls, which, he alleged was cheating the people.