COVID-19: Several States, UTs exhibiting higher positivity rate than national average, says Health Ministry

There is a need for 'aggressive and widespread testing' as 14 states and Union Territories (UTs) are exhibiting positivity rate higher than the national average for COVID-19, said the Union Health Ministry on Friday.

As per the Ministry of Health, India's cumulative positivity rate is 7.81 percent and the daily figure is 3.8 percent.

According to the data provided by the Ministry, Maharashtra with 20.4 percent positivity rate is at the top of the list, while Puducherry (18.2 percent) and Kerala (17.8 percent) are at number two and three.

It is also noteworthy that while the average for COVID-19 tests per million population is 64,473, it is at 1,30,513 for Puducherry and 57,009 for Kerala.

Other states and UTs in the list are Nagaland, Chandigarh, Goa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Ladakh, Chhattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and West Bengal.

The national capital Delhi too is included in the list with 8.1 percent positivity rate.

As per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday, India's COVID-19 count stood at 77,06,946.

This includes 7,15,812 active cases, while 68,74,518 patients have been cured and discharged so far in the country. There have been 1,16,616 deaths reported due to the disease so far.

(ANI)

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