New Delhi: The weekend dip in testings coupled with the highest-ever daily rise in Covid numbers sent the positivity rate shooting to an unprecedented 15.7%, even as Andhra Pradesh replaced Gujarat in the top five states with highest number of cases in the last 24 hours.
There is, however, a further dip in the national fatality rate. Gujarat’s mortality rate remains highest but the state, officials say, has started pulling up its socks in testing and has also eased procedures.
In Maharashtra, the daily deaths remain high in the 100-150 range, but now smaller cities are also reporting a higher number of deaths.
Among the top five states, Delhi tested the least in the last 24 hours, with the emphasis on antigen tests continuing.
Number of deaths
Deaths touched a new high once again, with 681 deaths having been reported in the last 24 hours. The toll now stands at 27,497, and the country’s fatality rate is 2.46%.
State-wise mortality rate
Gujarat’s position at the bottom of the mortality charts has continued, though officials in the central government say the state has started seeing a dip in deaths — below 20 every day since 5 July.
Active cases
The total active cases in the country is now a little less than 4 lakh. That is the total active pool from which fresh infections will spread.
Daily tests
The weekend dip in tests has brought the number below 3 lakh again — just 2,56,039 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. The daily surge in cases is now building pressure to further scale up tests.
Positivity rate
The positivity rate has now shot up to 15.7%, the highest national figure in many weeks now. This is because of a rise in daily cases and a fall in testings, though officials say this will come back to the usual 10% range once the testing numbers get back to usual.
Recovered cases
More than 7 lakh people have been cured of Covid-19 and discharged till now. This has further expanded the difference between active and recovered case (7,00,086) by 3,09,627. As many as 22,664 Covid patients recovered in the last 24 hours. The recovery rate as of now is 62.62%.
Total cases
The total number of cases in the country has now crossed 11 lakh, though the number also includes the over 60% recovered cases. The fault number has now crossed 40,000.
High-burden states
Maharashtra’s caseload keeps rising. However, the fatalities have now moved out of Mumbai and surrounding areas to smaller places such as Palghar and Solapur. The state has been reporting 100 to 150 deaths a day. Maharashtra and Gujarat remain worry points due to high fatalities.
Tamil Nadu continues to grapple with large numbers of cases, staying in the second spot after Maharashtra. The fatality rate is 1.40% lower than the national average.
Delhi has started showing signs of recovery even as the number of fresh cases reported in the last 24 hours stood at 954. The testing numbers though showed a dip — just about 13,000-odd.
Karnataka, which was placed comfortably until recently, has quickly lost its advantage due to spiralling cases in Bangalore and surrounding areas. The state currently has 63,772 cases, and has reported 1,331 deaths so far.
Andhra Pradesh has now entered the top five states with highest caseload. Its total case count has gone up to 49,650. At 1.29%, fatality rate is still lower than the national average but is rapidly rising.
Tests and positive cases
With Gujarat out of the top 5, Delhi now ranks lowest among the high-burden states on testings. The national capital is also doing more antigen tests, though central government sources say the retesting rates have been “satisfactory”.