Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan made his appearance after a short break on Saturday and said that Covid vaccine will be provided free in the state.
He said the day saw 5,949 people turn Covid positive after 59,690 samples was send for testing in the past 24 hours.
Likewise 5,268 people turned negative taking the total cured in the state to 6,01,861, while there were 60,029 active cases.
The day saw 32 Covid deaths taking the death tally to 2,594.
Across the state 3,15,167 were under observation which included 13,334 people at hospitals.
There were 437 hotspots in the state.
Meanwhile, the emergency use authorisation for COVID-19 vaccine would be given by the country's drug regulator after analysing all aspects of safety and efficacy, Niti Aayog member V K Paul Paul said on Saturday.
While India is yet to authorise a coronavirus vaccine, the government has already begun the work on the operational details for the rollout of a vaccine, when it becomes available. Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech International and Pfizer Inc's subsidiary Pfizer Ltd have sought approval for their respective vaccines.
The government is likely to roll out COVID-19 vaccine in a phased manner, with the first phase focusing on frontline workers and population at higher risk, central government sources have said.
The first phase of the vaccination is likely to cover about 300 mln people, including 10 mln healthcare workers and 20 mln frontline workers.
(With inputs from agencies)
