New Delhi: Even as India’s daily numbers inched closer once again to the 80,000-mark after a slight dip a day earlier, Andhra Pradesh overtook Tamil Nadu as the state with the second-highest Covid burden in the country, while Maharashtra remained firmly at the top.
Uttar Pradesh is now within touching distance of its target of 1.5 lakh daily tests but Karnataka has almost doubled testing in the last one day.
Active cases
After a slight dip Tuesday, the daily Covid case number is once again flirting with the 80,000 mark, stopping just shy of it at 78,357. This takes the total active cases in the country past the 8 lakh-mark despite over 60,000 recoveries per day over the last few days.
Number of deaths
The daily deaths have gone past the 1,000 figure once again. The total deaths in the country currently stand at 66,333. There are global concerns now about the rising numbers in India even as the country maintains that in the context of its large population, the situation is well managed.
Mortality rate
While there are wide variations in case fatality rates (CFR) in various states, the national average currently stands at 1.76 per cent. The global CFR is 3.3 per cent. The deaths per million population in India is one of the lowest in the world. While the global average is 110 deaths per million population, India is reporting 48 deaths per million population. The comparative figure for Brazil and the UK is 12 and 13 times higher, respectively.
Daily tests
India conducted over one million tests on two successive days for the first time ever. The total tests conducted so far is 4,43,37,201. These include antigen tests, RTPCR, CBNAAT and TrueNat.
Positivity rate
The positivity rate has inched up again thanks to the rising numbers even though testing is at the higher range. The effort is to bring it down to 5% or less nationally and in every state, every day.
Recovered cases
India’s recovery numbers are now inching close to 30 lakh. In the last 24 hours, 62,026 people recovered. There are currently 1,578 dedicated Covid hospitals providing quality medical care. The central government has also issued the Standard of Care guidelines incorporated in the Clinical Treatment Protocol.
Total cases
India currently ranks third in the world in terms of the overall Covid burden but is just about 2 lakh short of Brazil’s number. So if the current trajectory continues, India could climb to the number two spot in the coming weeks. The country has been reporting the highest number of new cases in the world for many weeks now.
High burden states
Uttar Pradesh, with a total of 2,30,414 cases, of which 5,343 were reported in the last 24 hours, currently has a doubling time of 28 days. The case fatality rate stands at 1.50 per cent, with 56 deaths being reported in the last one day.
Andhra Pradesh has a total caseload of 4,45,139, and replaces Tamil Nadu in the second spot among the top five high burden states. While the case fatality rate is below one, the number of daily cases — 10,368 in the last 24 hours — remains a matter of concern.
Tamil Nadu has seen a total of 4,33,969 cases in the last 24 hours, but the state’s case fatality rate is now inching closer to the national average, having stayed significantly low for much of the pandemic. It has a doubling time of 48 days.
Maharashtra is the state with most Covid cases by a long margin — its current case load is 8,08,306 of which 15,765 were reported in the last 24 hours. The good news, though, is that its case fatality rate may soon drop below 3. It is currently at 3.12. In the last one day, 320 people died of the disease.
Karnataka, in the last one day, reported 9,058 cases and 135 deaths, taking its total to 3,51,481. The doubling time is close to 27 days against the national average of 32.5 days
Tests and positive cases
Uttar Pradesh is now within touching distance of its target of 1.5 lakh daily tests with Karnataka coming a distant second among the high burden states at 83,670 tests. This, however, is a significant improvement for Karnataka. A day earlier, it had tested just 43,132 samples.