Record 10.55 lakh Covid tests conducted in a day in India

With a record of more than 10.5 lakh tests conducted in a day for detection of COVID-19, the number of such tests performed in the country has crossed 4.14 crore, the Union health ministry said on Sunday.

The exponential jump in testing capacity and the number of tests has resulted in an upsurge in Tests Per Million to 30,044 as on date, it highlighted.

With a record 10,55,027 tests conducted on Saturday, the country has further strengthened the national diagnostic capacity of testing more than 10 lakh samples for COVID-19 daily.

The total number of tests conducted in the country for detection of coronavirus currently stands at 4,14,61,636, the ministry said.

The Centre, keeping in view the evolving global context of COVID-19, conceptualised and implemented the continuum of care strategy of "test, track and treat" in close coordination with the states and Union territories, it said.

Pivoted on the strong pillar of aggressive testing, the positive cases are identified early, which enables and ensures that their contacts are efficiently tracked in a timely manner, the ministry stated.

This is followed up with prompt isolation at home or a facility setting for the mild and moderate cases, and hospitalisation for the severe and critical patients, it said.

The World Health Organization, in its guidance note on 'Public Health Criteria to Adjust Public Health and Social Measures in the Context of COVID-19', has advised comprehensive surveillance for suspected coronavirus cases.

It has advised that a country needs 140 tests per 10 lakh people every day.

All the states and Union territories have crossed the advised number of tests. Several states have demonstrated a better performance by registering a positivity rate that is lower than the national average, the health ministry said.

The testing strategy also ensured a steady expansion of the laboratory network across the country. As many as 1,583 laboratories -- 1,003 in the government sector and 580 private ones -- are providing comprehensive COVID-19 testing facilities to people.

According to data shared by the ministry, India's daily tests per million stands at 545. Goa is conducting the highest tests per day per million at 1,584 followed by Andhra Pradesh at 1,391, Delhi at 950, Tamil Nadu 847, Assam 748, Karnataka, 740, Bihar 650 and Telangana 637.

India's cumulative COVID-19 positivity rate is 8.57 per cent.

States having a positivity rate less than national average include Tamil Nadu at 8.10 per cent, Jharkhand 6.19 per cent, Bihar 5.44 per cent, Gujarat 5.01 per cent, Madhya Pradesh 4.74 per cent, Punjab 4.69 per cent, Uttar Pradesh 4.56 per cent and Rajasthan 4.18 per cent, the data showed.

The country's COVID-19 tally rose to 35,42,733 with a record single-day spike of 78,761 cases, while the death toll due to the disease climbed to 63,498 with 948 people succumbing to it in 24 hours, the ministry's data, updated at 8 am, showed.

COVID-19 recoveries cross 27 lakh, case fatality rate drops to 1.79%

India's COVID-19 recoveries have sprinted past 27 lakh, taking the recovery rate to 76.61 per cent, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.79 per cent, the health ministry said on Sunday.

It also highlighted that active cases of the infection comprise only 21.60 per cent of the total caseload.

With more patients recovering and being discharged from hospitals and home isolation, the country's total coronavirus recoveries have reached 27,13,933, the ministry said, adding that it has been possible because of effective implementation of the Centre's policy of "testing aggressively, tracking comprehensively through timely surveillance of close contacts and treating effectively through a widening medical care infrastructure across the country".

With a total of 64,935 patients having recovered in a span of 24 hours, India's recovery rate amongst the COVID-19 patients has improved to 76.61 per cent and is demonstrating continuous progress, the ministry underlined.

The recovery rate was 7.69 per cent on April 5. It improved to 26.59 per cent on May 3 and 47.76 per cent on May 31. It was recorded at 60.77 per cent on July 5.

The number of patients recovering is on a steady rise over the past several months and as on date exceeds the active cases by 3.55 times, the ministry said.

India has posted nearly 19.5 lakh (19,48,631) recoveries more than 7,65,302 active cases.

The record high recoveries have ensured that 7,65,302 active cases of coronavirus, which is the "actual caseload of the country and the same comprises only 21.60 per cent of the total positive cases," the ministry underscored.

This has aided the fast widening gap between the number of patients recovered and the active cases, it said.

"Timely and effective clinical management of the patients in critical care through a slew of holistic measures has been instrumental in keeping the case fatality rate low and on a steady downward trajectory. It has further dipped to 1.79 per cent today," the ministry said on Sunday.