Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 16 (IANS): The number of people testing Covid positive in Kerala continues to spike with the test positivity rate on Friday reaching 14.8 per cent.

State Health Minister K.K. Shailaja, in a statement, said 10,031 people turned Covid positive from 67,775 samples tested in the past 24 hours, while 3,792 turned Covid negative, taking the total cured to 11,32,267.

There were also 21 new deaths, taking the total toll to 4,877.

The state has 69,868 active cases.

Cases have been rising as Covid protocols saw lax observance ahead of the April 6 Assembly elections.

Across the state, there were 2,04,933 people under observation at various places which included 9,837 people in hospitals. There are 436 hot spots.

The state, which had planned a mass vaccination drive on Friday and Saturday, is also seeing doses run out.

However, the authorities are expecting the arrival of two lakh Covishield doses on Friday night.

"We had requested 50 lakh doses and so far we have received around 26 lakhs doses. We are expecting the arrival of more vaccines, so as to speed up the efforts of the government to give it to as many people as possible at the earliest," said Left Democratic Front convenor A. Vijayaraghavan.