New Delhi: Backlog in updation of Covid death numbers in Tamil Nadu, a state that has consistently registered low mortality, caused a second sharp single-day spike in the toll, recording 1,129 fatalities in the last 24 hours.
The earlier spike was on June 16 when backlog in Maharashtra and West Bengal pushed the daily number to 2,003, the highest so far.
The testing numbers are now beginning to look small as the cases pile up. The positivity rate stood at 13% Thursday even as the country reported yet another ‘highest’ daily tally of cases.
Active cases
On a day when the country reported the highest number of positive cases — once again — at 45,720, the total number of active cases stood at 4,26,167. This is about a third of the total cases in the country.
Number of deaths
The sudden spike in the death graph is a result of Tamil Nadu updating its figures and adding 400 deaths to the list. These deaths happened earlier but have been added to the toll only now. This means the number of patients who died in the last 24 hours is 729.
Mortality rate
The notable change in this graph is in the position of Tamil Nadu whose mortality rate has shown a small spike after adding the pending death data. Others remain more or less static at the positions they were earlier in.
Daily tests
Tests conducted every day continue to hover around the 3.5-lakh mark without any notable rise in the last few days. This has long term implications as the serological survey data in Delhi showed in the numbers of “missed” cases.
Positivity rate
The positivity rate now stands at 13%, a proof that India testing rate is now lagging behind that of the spread of the SARS-CoV2. India had been recording a 9-10% positivity against the WHO’s “ideal” of 5%.
Recovered cases
The last 24 hours saw the highest ever single-day number of patients cured and discharged — 29,557. While the total number of recovered cases has jumped to 7,82,606, there has been a growth in the recovery rate, which now stands at 63.18%.
Total cases
The total cases in the country currently stands at 12,38,635. India, however, has the lowest mortality in the world per million population.
High-burden states
Maharashtra reported 10,576 cases and 280 deaths in the last 24 hours. The state continues to report high positivity — 20% — and the doubling time of cases here is 24 days.
Tamil Nadu, after days of low mortality rate, has now added pending Covid deaths to its toll. However, the mortality rate still remains below the national average. The state reported 5,849 cases and 518 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Delhi reported 1,227 fresh cases and 29 deaths in the last 24 hours. The city conducted 5,250 tests using RT-PCR/TrueNat/CBNAAT and 14,810 rapid antigen tests.
Andhra Pradesh reported 6,045 cases and 65 deaths in the last 24 hours at a test positivity rate of 4.5%. The doubling time in the state stands at eight days.
Karnataka, in the last 24 hours, reported 4,764 cases and 55 deaths. The state has a doubling time of 10 days and a positivity rate of 6.81%.
Tests and positive cases
Delhi may have brought down daily Covid numbers but the fact that antigen tests have now far overshot RT-PCR is something that may have far-reaching implications. Govt data shows that 18 per cent of antigen negatives have been found to be positive after being retested using RT-PCR.