MUMBAI:
India hurtled toward the 3 million mark for coronavirus cases on Friday, reporting 68,898 new infections in the last 24 hours, data from the federal health ministry showed.
The total number of cases in the country now stands at 2.9 million.
Deaths in the same period jumped by 983, with the total now at 54,849. India is the worst-hit country in Asia, and third behind the United States and Brazil in terms of total cases of the coronavirus.
Case fatality rate has declined to 1.89 per cent while the recovery rate has risen to 74.30 per cent.
There are 6,92,028 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country which is 23.82 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.
India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7.
Of the 983 fresh deaths, 326 are from Maharashtra, 116 from Tamil Nadu, 102 from Karnataka, 95 each from Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, 53 from West Bengal, 36 from Punjab, 22 from Delhi, 16 from Gujarat, 12 from Madhya Pradesh, 11 each from Haryana and Rajasthan.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a cumulative total of 3,34,67,237 samples have been tested up to August 20 with 8,05,985 samples being tested on Thursday.
With a record 9,18,470 tests been being done in a day, the cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of Covid-19 in India have reached 3.26 crore even as the national positivity rate has fallen below 8 per cent, the Union Health Ministry said.
With constantly increasing testing numbers, there has been a commensurate fall in the positivity rate, the ministry said.
"Although higher number of tests will push the positivity rate initially, but as the experience from several states and UTs has amply depicted, it will eventually lower when combined with other measures such as prompt isolation, effective tracking and timely clinical management," it stated.
India for the first time conducted a record number of more than 9 lakh Covid tests in a span of 24-hours on Wednesday and it is poised to see an exponential increase towards its resolve of testing 10 lakh samples daily.
The cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of coronavirus infection in the country has increased to 3,26,61,252.
Expanded diagnostic lab network across the country and effective measures to facilitate easy testing have given a substantial boost to the present numbers.
"As a result of these focussed actions, the Tests Per Million (TPM) have seen a sharp increase to 23,668. The TPM continues to maintain a constant upward trend," the ministry said.
"As the national average falls below 8 per cent, there are 26 states and UTs that are reporting lower rates than the national average," the ministry said in a statement.
There has been a steady rise in the national network of diagnostic labs too. With 977 labs in the government sector and 517 private labs, the lab infrastructure has been enhanced to 1,494 labs today.
Of the total 54,849 deaths, Maharashtra has reported the maximum at 21,359, followed by 6,239 in Tamil Nadu, 4,429 in Karnataka, 4,257 in Delhi, 3,001 in Andhra Pradesh, 2,853 in Gujarat, 2,733 in Uttar Pradesh, 2,634 in West Bengal and 1,171 in Madhya Pradesh.