NEW DELHI: 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.
India's COVID-19 caseload increased to 28,36,925 with a record single day spike of 69,652 infections, while the death-toll climbed to 53,866 with 977 new fatalities being reported in a day, the data updated at 8 am showed.
Recoveries among COVID-19 patients in the country surged to 20,96,664 on Thursday, pushing India's recovery rate to 73.91 per cent, while only 0.28 per cent people of 6,86,395 active cases are on ventilator support, the Union health ministry said.
Of the active cases of coronavirus infection, 1.92 per cent are in ICU and 2.62 per cent on oxygen support.
The country's case fatality rate has further declined to 1.90 per cent, it said.
Recovery of 20,96,664 patients has been made possible because of effective implementation of the policy of testing aggressively, tracking comprehensively and treating efficiently, the ministry said in a statement.
"Focus on standard of care protocol including use of non-invasive oxygen, better skilled doctors in the ICUs and hospitals, and improved ambulance services have culminated in yielding the desired results," it said.
With 58,794 recoveries in a span of 24 hours, India's recovery rate amongst COVID-19 patients has reached nearly 74 per cent (73.91 per cent) reflecting that the number of patients recovering is on a steady rise over the past several months, it added.
India has posted 14,10,269 more recoveries than active cases.
There are 6,86,395 active cases of coronavirus infection which are under active medical care.
The record high recoveries have ensured that the active cases, the "actual caseload" of the country, currently comprise only 24.19 per cent of the total cases.
Early identification through testing, surveillance and contact tracing along with focus on timely and appropriate clinical treatment of COVID-19 patients have ensured that not only is the case fatality rate lower than the global average and progressively declining but also a small proportion of the active cases are on ventilator support, the ministry said.
India's COVID-19 caseload increased to 28,36,925 with a record single-day spike of 69,652 infections, while the death toll climbed to 53,866 with 977 fresh fatalities being reported in a day, official data updated at 8 am showed.