Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 4 : The daily number of Covid positive patients in Kerala continues to spike, taking the cases in the state to 81,716. In a statement released on Friday by the State Health Minister K. K. Shailaja, she said there were 2,479 fresh cases, while 2,716 had recovered from Covid-19. "At present, there were 21,268 positive cases while 60,448 have been recovered of Covid-19. In the past 24 hours 36,310 samples were tested. Across the state, there were 1,97,937 people under observation which includes 17,194 people in various hospitals. The state has 557 hot spots," Shailaja added. Thiruvananthapuram district continues to lead in the number of new coronavirus cases, which has been a pattern for a while now, after 477 turned Covid positive. On Friday, 11 deaths were reported taking the toll to 326. /IANS