Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 30 (IANS): An all-party meeting held here on Tuesday under Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan agreed to jointly fight the spike in COVID cases, but ruled out a total lockdown.

Kerala on Tuesday reported 7,354 new Covid-19 cases, the second-highest single-day spike so far.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Vijayan said that the general consensus is that a lockdown might not help, but all the parties have agreed to play a responsible role to ensure that things do not go out of hand.

"From now on, everyone should ensure that the COVID protocols are strictly adhered to, especially when in shops and markets or while taking part in social and political events. If this does not happen, things will become very grave for the state. All present in the meeting agreed to this," said Vijayan.

The Chief Minister said that at present there are 61,791 active cases in the state, while 1,24,688 people have been cured.

"In the past 24 hours, 52,755 samples were tested. Malappuram and Thiruvananthapuram districts continue to register a high number of cases. In recent weeks, 568 cases have been reported in the age group of fewer than 15 years, while 786 cases were reported in the above 65 years category," said Vijayan.

A total of 22 persons succumbed to the virus on Tuesday, taking the state's death toll to 719.

Across the state, 2,36,960 people are under observation, including 28,702 in various hospitals.

"At present, we are fully equipped to deal with the situation, but the fact of the matter is if things turn very grave and if the spread goes beyond our calculation, it might lead to a difficult situation. Hence, we all should ensure that COVID protocols are not violated at any cost," said Vijayan.