COVID-19: India witnesses consistent fall in cumulative positivity rate as testing increases

As we near the end of this nightmarish year, the most hopeful piece of information to come across is some positive news on the COVID front, and we make sure that you get a decent dose of it every day. 

In today's piece of good news, the COVID positivity rate in India is witnessing a consistent decline. With the total number of tests conducted for the detection of COVID-19 nearing 13.5 crores in the country, the Health Ministry on Wednesday said comprehensive and widespread testing on a sustained basis has resulted in bringing down the positivity rate.

The progressive decline in the national cumulative COVID-19 positivity rate has demonstrated that the rate of spread of the infection is being effectively contained in the country, the ministry underlined.

The cumulative positivity rate has been steadily falling and has touched 6.84 per cent as of date, while the daily positivity rate stands at 3.83 per cent, it said.

The country has demonstrated a consistent strengthening of its COVID-19 testing infrastructure since January, resulting in an exponential increase in the testing numbers, the ministry said.

With 11,59,032 tests conducted for the detection of the coronavirus infection in a span of 24 hours, the total number of such tests is nearing 13.5 crore (13,48,41,307).

"Comprehensive and widespread testing on a sustained basis has resulted in bringing down the positivity rate. The progressive decline in the national cumulative positivity rate has demonstrated that the rate of spread of the infection is being effectively contained," the ministry said.

Sustained and progressive expansion of the testing infrastructure has played a crucial role in the steep rise in the testing numbers. With 2,138 testing laboratories in the country -- 1,167 government-run, 971 private -- the daily testing capacity has got a substantial boost, the ministry said.

As a result, the tests per million per day figure in India is five times more than the standard set by the World Health Organization (WHO), it highlighted.

The present active caseload (4,44,746) in the country accounts for 4.82 per cent of the total cases and has been sustained at below five per cent.

The country registered 37,816 new recoveries in a day, taking the total number of recovered cases to 86,42,771, which exceeds that of the active cases by 81,98,025, the ministry said.

It said 77.53 per cent of the new recoveries are contributed by 10 states and Union territories. Kerala leads the tally with 5,149, followed by Delhi (4,943) and Maharashtra (4,086).

Ten states and Union territories accounted for 76.51 per cent of the 44,376 new cases, with Delhi reporting the highest of 6,224, followed by Maharashtra (5,439) and Kerala (5,420), the ministry said.

Of the 481 case fatalities reported in the last 24 hours, 74.22 per cent are concentrated in 10 states and Union territories. Delhi reported 109 fresh deaths, while West Bengal saw a fatality count of 49 and Uttar Pradesh 33. 

(With PTI inputs)