Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 9 (IANS): Kerala on Saturday reported less than 10,000 fresh Covid cases after over a week as 9,470 people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours, officials said.

A statement from Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said 88,310 samples was sent for testing in the last 24 hours and the test positivity rate stood at 10.72 per cent.

It pointed out that 12,881 people turned negative while the number of active cases in the state was 1,13,132 of which 10.4 per cent of the patients were in hospitals.

Besides, 101 new Covid deaths were also reported in Kerala, taking the total death toll to 26,173.

Meanwhile, Kerala Health Minister Veena George said that starting Sunday, the kith and kin of those who lost their family members due to Covid can start applying for the assistance announced by the Central government.

On the vaccination front, 93.3 per cent (2.49 crore) of those aged above 18 years old have got their first dose, of which 43.6 per cent received both the jabs.