Thiruvananthapuram, May 18 (IANS) The statewide lockdown in Kerala appears to have had an impact as the test positivity rate continues to fall and on Tuesday, came down to 23.29 per cent from close to 30 per cent in the last week.

The lockdown in the state with four districts under 'triple lockdown' is presently fixed till Sunday and there is every likelihood that it might be extended till the end of the month.

A statement issued by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that 31,337 people turned positive from 1,34,553 samples tested in the past 24 hours.

The day also saw 45,926 people turn negative, taking the total cured in the state to 18,46,105, while the total number of active cases stands at 3,47,626.

The day also saw 97 deaths being recorded, taking the toll to 6,612.

Across the state, there were 10,10,995 people under observation at various places which includes 37,974 in hospitals. There are 856 hotspots.

--IANS sg/vd