New Delhi: The R value — which estimates the rate of spread of the disease — remained below 1 this week, but has gone up marginally. This is a red flag especially as the country looks at easing restrictions even further and festive season is around the corner.
For the last four days, the positivity rate has oscillated between two numbers — 6.1 per cent and 7.4 per cent — showing how much the test numbers continue to see-saw.
R-value
The R value that indicates the number of people one patient can infect has risen marginally from 0.93 to 0.97 this week. The fact that it is still below 1 is a good sign but the rising trend isn’t.
Active cases
India has sustained the steady trend of active cases being lower than the 10-lakh mark for 11 days, in an unbroken chain. The total number of active cases today is 9,42,217.
Number of deaths
In the last 24 hours, India has registered 1,095 Covid deaths. Ten states and Union Territories have contributed to 83.37 per cent of the new deaths. Maharashtra recorded 36 per cent of these deaths with 394 fatalities, followed by Karnataka with 130 deaths.
Mortality rate
The case fatality rate in Punjab has now touched 3, which is almost double the national average of 1.56. Meanwhile, 13 states and UTs have a CFR of less than one. These include Kerala, Assam, Bihar, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
Daily tests
A total of 10,97,947 tests were done in the 1,101 government and 768 private labs across the country in the past 24 hours. The total number of tests done till date stands at 7,67,17,728.
Positivity rate
For the last four days, interestingly, India’s test positivity rate has alternated between 6.1 per cent and 7.4 per cent, while the testing number has ranged from 10.86 lakh to 14.23 lakh.
Recovered cases
A total of 78,877 recoveries were registered in the last 24 hours. This resulted in a continuous increase in the national recovery rate, which is currently pegged at 83.70 per cent. India’s total recoveries are 53,52,078, as of today. The last 10 lakh recoveries were added in just 12 days.
Total cases
A total of 81,484 new confirmed cases have been reported in the last 24 hours in the country and 78.07 per cent of the new cases are concentrated in just 10 states and UTs. Maharashtra contributed more than 16,000 cases while Karnataka has contributed around 10,000 cases, followed by Kerala with more than 8,000 cases.
High-burden states
In Tamil Nadu, 5,688 cases and 66 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. The total number of cases in the state have now touched 6,03,290 of which 46,369 are active cases. The doubling time is close to 74 days while the case fatality rate stands at 1.59 per cent.
Maharashtra’s total cases have now crossed the 14-lakh mark. Of these, a little over 2.5 lakh are active cases. The sample positivity rate in the state, though, continues to be very high with the doubling time now close to 57 days.
Andhra Pradesh reported 6,751 cases and 41 deaths in the last 24 hours. The total cases in the state currently is 7,00,235 of which 57,858 are active cases. The doubling time is a little over 74 days.
Of Karnataka’s total 6,11,837 cases, 1,10,431 are active. In the last 24 hours, the state reported 10,070 cases and 120 deaths. The current CFR is 1.47 per cent and the doubling time is close to 46 days.
Uttar Pradesh’s total number of cases may be low but it has over 50,000 active cases. The state reported 4,019 new cases and 80 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Tests and positive cases
Despite a push from the central government, testing has not gone up too much in Maharashtra while Karnataka is now close to the one-lakh mark. The two states were asked to ramp up testing because of their high positivity rates.