NEW DELHI: According to a moderation in India’s Covid curve, the average daily positivity rate has fallen in the last three weeks (week-over-week) to 6.8% during September 30 to October 6 from 9.2% during September 16-22, mainly due to a decrease in the average daily new cases even as tests increased.
More than eight million tests have been carried out in India so far and about 80 lakh were carried out last week, said Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan. More recoveries than new cases have also helped keep active cases under control. Active cases, representing the country’s actual case burden, have remained below 10 lakh for the past two weeks, even as officials warned against complacency, particularly during the upcoming festival season and the start of the festivals. winters.
The growth rate of confirmed cases across India has turned negative in a few days recently and on October 6 it stood at 0.9%. There has been a moderation in the growth rate in states with a high burden of cases like Maharashtra where it was 0.7%, while it was 0.6% in Andhra Pradesh, where the curve is steep but shows signs of slowing down. It is 1.1% in Karnataka, 0.9% in Tamil Nadu and 0.7% in UP.
There were 919,023 active cases in India on October 6, of which 232,721 are in Maharashtra alone, 51,060 in Andhra Pradesh, 51,496 in Karnataka, 45,881 in Tamil Nadu, 45,024 in UP, 23,080 in Delhi and 27,717 in West Bengal. There has been an increase in cases in Kerala, which has 84,958 active cases. With 61,267 new cases reported, about 77% of active cases are in 10 states.
During September 2-8, the positivity rate was 8.3%, which increased to 9.2% during September 16-22, but in the last three weeks it has fallen to 6.8% on the week from September 30 to October 6. The drop to 8% or so was considered a success and the government is pressuring states to continue propagating the need for safe behavior along with sustained higher levels of evidence.
Bhushan said: “It is too early to address the trend of active Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra, whether it is stabilizing or not, we must watch for longer.”
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