New Delhi: India reported over 52,000 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, but health secretary Rajesh Bhushan Tuesday said there was no need to be “overawed” by the numbers so long as detection, isolation and treatment happens on time to prevent deaths.
The daily deaths though have now crossed 800 even though another day of
record testing brought the positivity rate down to a very satisfying 7.8 per cent.
Active cases
India now has 5,86,298 active Covid-19 cases, with over 52,000 of them having been reported in the last 24 hours. In the weekly briefing held Tuesday, Bhushan said the Centre has been telling the states not to be overawed by the numbers so long as timely detection, isolation and treatment saves lives.
Number of deaths
In the past 24 hours, 803 more people died of Covid, taking the total to 38,938. India’s current case fatality rate is 2.11 per cent, among the lowest in the world even though both number of cases and deaths are rising steadily.
Mortality rate
The mortality chart looks almost the same in terms of relative positions of states but the explosive increase in cases has ensured that all states, especially the ones towards the bottom, show steady decline in mortality rate, adding up to the national decline.
Daily tests
India notched up an impressive daily score once again with 6,61,892 tests in the past 24 hours. While the national positivity rate dipped, high positivity in some states is a matter of concern, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said.
Positivity rate
The positivity rate dipped dramatically to 7.8 per cent. This means that if India continues to push the testing numbers, the 5 per cent target — which the WHO says is ideal — would not be unreachable.
Recovered cases
The total recovered cases are now almost two-thirds of the total disease burden in India. With a fatality rate of just over 2 per cent, close to 98 per cent of patients in India will recover, sooner or later.
Total cases
The total Covid-19 cases in India are at an awe-inspiring 18,55,745 — the third largest in the world behind US and Brazil. India’s daily positives are now the highest in the world.
High burden states
Maharashtra reported 8,968 fresh cases and 266 deaths in the last 24
hours but its positivity rate remained high along with the case fatality rate,
which is the second highest in the country.
Tamil Nadu reported 5,609 cases and 109 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Its positivity rate is just below 10 per cent while the case fatality rate is
1.61 per cent.
In Karnataka, where now both Chief Minister B.S. Yeduriyappa and opposition leader Siddaramaiah are positive, 4,752 cases were reported in the last 24 hours. There have been 100 deaths as well.
Andhra Pradesh reported 7,822 cases and 63 deaths in the last 24 hours
with a doubling time of just under 10 days. The case fatality rate is less than 1 per cent.
Delhi saw 805 cases from just a little over 1,000 tests — which is a fifth of what states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are testing. However, it is among the top testing states per million population thanks to the fact that there are just about 2 crore people in the city.
Tests and positive cases
Maharashtra has now gone past Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh in tests even though its positivity rate continues to be high at 16 per cent.