COVID update: Recovery rate crosses 91%; Centre reviews states' responses

India’s COVID-19 recovery rate has crossed 91 per cent while 48,648 new coronavirus cases were reported in a day, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s (UHFW) data today (October 30).

The COVID-19 death toll in the country climbed to 1,21,090 with 563 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. The total cases in the country stand at 80,88,851.

A total of 73,73,375 people have recuperated from COVID-19 so far pushing the national recovery rate to 91.15 per cent while the case fatality rate stands at 1.50 per cent.

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There are 5,94,386 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country as on date which comprises 7.35 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.

More than 10.65 tests conducted

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23 and 40 lakh on September 5. It went past 50 lakh on September 16, 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11 and crossed 80 lakh on October 29.

With 10,75,760 tests conducted, the cumulative tests have crossed 10.65 crore (10,65,63,440). Nearly 11 lakh tests have been conducted daily on an average during the past six weeks, the ministry said on Thursday.

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The 563 new fatalities include 156 from Maharashtra, 61 from West Bengal, 53 from Chhattisgarh, 45 from Karnataka, 35 from Tamil Nadu, 27 from Delhi and 26 from Kerala.

Maharashtra extends lockdown

A total of 1,21,090 deaths reported so far in the country including 43,710 from Maharashtra followed by 11,091 from Karnataka, 11,053 from Tamil Nadu, 6,983 from Uttar Pradesh, 6,725 from West Bengal, 6,659 from Andhra Pradesh, 6,423 from Delhi, 4,168 from Punjab and 3,705 from Gujarat.

On Thursday, the Maharashtra government extended the lockdown restrictions in the state till November 30.

Meanwhile, Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary, reviewed the status of COVID in the States/UT of West Bengal, Kerala and Delhi and their public health response measures in a meeting held through video conferencing on Thursday.

Delhi has 29,378 active cases as of Thursday with a fatality rate of 1.76% and a positivity rate of 7.9%. There has been nearly 46% increase in the new cases over the past four weeks, and the positivity rate over the past four weeks has escalated by nearly 9%. The rising cases were attributed by the Delhi team to social gatherings during the festivities, the deteriorating air quality, increasing incidences of respiratory disorders, and clusters of positive cases at work places. The fatigue among frontline workers was also discussed.

Cases rising in Kerala

West Bengal has 37,111 active cases as of Thursday. The case fatality rate of the state stands at 1.84% and the positivity rate is 8.3%. The average daily cases have recorded 23% increase over last four weeks.

There is 1% increase in the positivity rate over the last four weeks. Darjeeling, Nadia, Medinipur West, Jalpaiguri, Hooghly are the top districts showing increasing trend in cases. Whereas, Murshidabad, Nadia, Coochbehar, Kolkata and Darjeeling have registered increase in the weekly deaths last week. The tests per million population (TPM) stand at 41,261 whereas the national TPM is 77,220. The state was advised to strictly follow the ‘test-track-treat’ strategy.

The cases in Kerala are showing a rising trend. Total active cases are 93,369 as on date. The average daily cases have recorded 11% increase over the last four weeks. The number of new cases in last 14 days is 98,778, the Union health ministry said.

In Andhra Pradesh, the government has decided to reopen schools and colleges in a phased manner in the state from November 2 with all precautionary measures in place.

(With inputs from PTI)