New Delhi: Yet another day of record tests kept the positivity in check but close to 70,000 positive cases in the last 24 hours meant that the “reassuring” numbers from earlier this week have not lasted.
However, the rate of transmission is stable. Uttar Pradesh alone has tested over a lakh samples in the past day.
R value
The R value, which is a measure of the rate of transmission of the infection, is constant at 1.05. It effectively measures how many people a Covid positive person ends up infecting. Only when this value goes below one can the pandemic be said to be waning.
Active cases
The total active cases in the country currently stand at 6,86,395, less than a quarter of the total disease burden. In the last 24 hours, 69,652 cases were reported. However, many recovered patients are coming back to hospitals complaining of fatigue and breathlessness.
Number of deaths
The 977 deaths in the last 24 hours have brought the total toll to 53,866. The current case fatality rate nationally is 1.89 per cent.
Mortality rate
The case fatality rate is now under three in all states of the country, except in Maharashtra and Gujarat. In 28 states and UTs, it is less than the national average of 1.89, but Maharashtra’s twin burden of high active cases and death rate is a worry.
Daily tests
For the first time, a record number of more than 9 lakh Covid tests have been conducted in a single day. With 9,18,470 tests done in the last 24 hours, India is on course to testing 10 lakh samples daily. The cumulative tests are more than 3.25 crore (3,26,61,252).
Positivity rate
The over 9 lakh tests conducted have managed to bring down the positivity rate only marginally to 7.5 per cent. However, this value will need to remain consistently at 5 per cent before there can be any judgement on whether India is testing enough or not.
Recovered cases
Over 20 lakh people have recovered from Covid-19 in India, which is now the only number that the government gives out in its daily bulletins apart from daily tests. There are also patients who have died after testing negative for Covid, so technically, they are also a part of this number.
Total cases
The total Covid cases in the country currently stand at 28,36,925. About three quarters of this number is of recovered patients.
High burden states
Karnataka, which has a total disease burden of 2,49,590, reported 8,642 cases and 125 deaths in the last 24 hours. The doubling time is close to 21 days and the case fatality rate is 1.74 per cent.
Tamil Nadu, in the last 24 hours, reported 5,795 cases and 116 deaths at a growth rate of 1.76 per cent. The doubling time is a little less than 41 days and the case fatality rate is 1.72 per cent.
Andhra Pradesh reported 9,742 cases and 86 deaths in the last 24 hours. The case fatality rate stands at 0.92 per cent and the growth rate is 3.16 per cent. It has a doubling time or close to 23 days.
Maharashtra, which recorded 13,165 cases and 346 deaths in the last 24 hours, saw its total tally go up to 6,28,742.
Uttar Pradesh is racing ahead on the testing front. In the last 24 hours, it reported 5,076 cases and 53 deaths. It has a doubling time of 24 days and a case fatality rate of 1.57 per cent.
Tests and positive cases
The one testing bar that now towers over others is Uttar Pradesh which is the first state in the country to cross one lakh daily tests. Maharashtra is a distant second, and Tamil Nadu, which has been the leader for so long, is now third.