Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 3 (IANS): Even as fresh decisions with regards to lockdown norms are expected, Kerala on Tuesday saw Covid cases soar high again, with 23,676 turning positive after 1,99,456 samples were sent for testing in the past 24 hours.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in a statement, said that the test positivity rate (TPR) rose to 11.87 per cent, from 10.93 per cent on Monday.
The state has 1,73,221 active cases as on Tuesday, which also saw 15,626 turning negative.
Another 148 deaths were reported, taking the death toll to 17,103.
Malappuram district accounted for 4,276 cases, on Tuesday followed by Thrissur with 2,908.
With Onam, the traditional harvest festival, round the corner, traders have been threatening that they will be open their shops from August 9. However, according to sources, the ongoing Saturday and Sunday lockdown might be lifted.