The Center has requested Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Delhi to increase testing, as the positivity rate in these states is still significantly higher than the national average of 8.4%.
An analysis of the daily average of new cases week by week in the top five states showed that Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh they were adding more cases, while the numbers had stabilized over the past three weeks in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. There were also initial signs of decline in Tamil naduthe government said.
The positivity rate was highest in Maharashtra at 21.5% and so far the state has tested around 51.73 lakh of samples. Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka had a positivity rate above 12%, while Delhi had a rate of 8.9%. A sustained high positivity rate points not only to the need for further testing, but also to perform contact tracking and isolation. Laxity toward measures like wearing masks is also fueling the pandemic.
“The amount of testing done by states should be considered in conjunction with the positivity rate reported by them. If despite large-scale testing, a state is seeing more positivity, it needs to increase testing even more, ”Secretary of Health Rajesh Bhushan said.
Overall, India has tested Rs 5.8 crore so far, while the number of infected cases has reached almost 50 lakh and deaths have reached 81,331. India’s 58 million tests are behind the United States with 92 million and China with 160 million. Its test average per million inhabitants is 42,000.
The Center again noted that the burden of infection is concentrated in a few states. Five states (Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu) still account for 60% of all active cases.
Four states, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, have more than 50,000 active cases. On the other hand, 18 states have 5,000-50,000 active cases, while 14 states and UT have less than 5,000 active cases.
Similarly, for deaths, Maharashtra and UP are seeing an increase in the average daily deaths from week to week, while Karnataka shows some stability. Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have shown early signs of declining daily deaths over the past three weeks.
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