35 states conducting more than 140 COVID tests/day/mn population

Thirty-five states and Union territories in the country are performing more than 140 COVID-19 tests per day per million population, while 22 states and UTs have COVID-19 positivity rate less than the national average, the health ministry said on Thursday.

The cumulative positivity rate stands at 8.19 per cent, it said.

The national average of COVID-19 tests per day per million population is 865, the ministry said, asserting that the country has demonstrated an exponential increase in the COVID-19 testing infrastructure since January 2020.

"As evidence has revealed, higher number of testing on a sustained basis has aided in bringing down the positivity rate. The sharp decline in national cumulative positivity rate has demonstrated that the rate of spread of infection is being contained," the ministry underlined.

The country's testing capacities have multiplied manifolds. More than 15 lakh samples can be tested every day, it said.

"India has performed remarkably on fulfilling World Health Organisation's advice of 140 tests/day/million population," the health ministry underscored.

In its Guidance Note on 'Public Health Criteria to Adjust Public Health and Social Measures in the Context of COVID-19', the World Health Organisation has advised this strategy for comprehensive surveillance for suspected cases.

"A total of 35 states/UTs have exceeded the advised number of tests. The national average of tests per day per million population stands at 865," the ministry said.

With 11,94,321 tests conducted for detection of COVID-19 in a span of 24 hours, the cumulative tests in India have crossed 8.34 crore.

Higher testing across wide regions leads to early identification of positive cases, prompt tracking through efficient surveillance and tracing, and timely and effective treatment in homes/facilities and in hospitals for the severe cases, the ministry noted.

These measures in tandem eventually lead to lower mortality rate, it said.

Seven states and Union territories have reported a positivity rate less than 5 per cent.

This is a result of the successful 'test, track, trace, treat and technology' strategy of the central government effectively followed by states and UTs, it said.

"The cumulative COVID-19 positivity rate is 8.19 per cent and is on a continuous decline," the ministry said.

Maintaining the spree of registering more recoveries than the new confirmed cases, 83,011 recoveries were registered in a span of 24 hours as against 78,524 new confirmed cases.

A total of 58,27,704 people have recuperated from coronavirus infection, pushing the recovery rate to 85.25 per cent. The recoveries exceed the active cases of COVID-19 by 49,25,279, it said.

"The active cases are less than 10 lakh for the 17th day in a row," the ministry said.

Presently, the active cases comprise merely 13.20 per cent of the total positive cases of the country standing at 9,02,425, according to the ministry data updated at 8 am on Thursday.

"Seventy-five per cent of the new recovered cases are observed to be concentrated in 10 states and UTs. Maharashtra alone has contributed the maximum with more than 16,000 single-day recoveries," the ministry said.

It said 79 per cent of the 78,524 new cases recorded in a span of 24 hours are from 10 states and UTs. Maharashtra continues to be the state reporting a very high number of new cases with more than 14,000 cases followed by Karnataka with nearly 11,000 cases.

Also, 971 case fatalities due to COVID-19 have been reported in a span of 24 hours. Of these, nearly 82 per cent are concentrated in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

More than 36 per cent of new fatalities are reported from Maharashtra (355 deaths).

India's COVID-19 caseload mounted to 68,35,655 with 78,524 infections being reported in a day, while the death toll climbed to 1,05,526 with 971 people succumbing to the disease in a span of 24 hours, the ministry data updated at 8 am on Thursday showed.