Thiruvananthapuram, July 25 (IANS) After a day of respite, Kerala recorded 1,103 new coronavirus cases, Health Minister K.K. Shailaja said on Saturday.

She said 1,049 more patients were cured of the disease.

"As on date, 9,420 patients are corona positive, and 8,613 others cured. Among the new cases, like in the previous days, the cases of local infectees continue to surge, with 838 patients in this category while the source of disease in 72 patients remains unknown. Thiruvananthapuram continues to top the daily cases' list with 240 patients," said Shailaja.

As many as 1,54,300 persons are under observation at present across the state, of which 8,981 are in hospitals.

The number of daily tests, which stood around 5,000 daily in the last month, has now crossed over 20,000.

As of Saturday, Kerala has 481 corona hotspots.

--IANS sg/tsb