Only 4 states have more than 50,000 Covid-19 case, says health ministry

India’s Covid-19 tally surged to 4,930,236 on Tuesday after 83,809 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours, according to the Union health ministry. The country’s death toll now stands at 80,776.

Fourteen states and Union territories have less than 5,000 active cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and there are only four states which have more than 50,000 infections, the government said on Tuesday as the country’s tally went past 4.9 million.

A health worker collects a swab sample for coronavirus disease testing from an individual, at Vijay Nagar, in Ghaziabad (Sakib Ali /HT Photo)

India’s Covid-19 tally surged to 4,930,236 on Tuesday after 83,809 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours, according to the Union health ministry. The country also recorded 1,054 new fatalities due to the viral disease during the same period, taking its death toll to 80,776.

There are 990,061 active cases and 38,59,399 patients have been discharged, the health ministry data showed.

“There are 14 states and Union territories in India where the total number of active cases are less than 5,000. There are 18 states and Union territories where total active cases are between 5,000-50,000,” Rajesh Bhushan, the Union health secretary, said during a press conference.

Bhushan also said the country’s average positivity rate is 8.4% and that Maharashtra, the worst-hit state, has 21.4%. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, he said account for 60% of total active cases in the country.

He also said that Maharashtra leads with daily average deaths in top five states adding to India’s caseload. In India, cases per million population are 3,573 as compared to the world average of 3,704 cases per million population, he added.

Bhushan said India’s cases per million population is amongst the lowest in the world, which stands at 3,573 for India and 3,704 for the world. More than 3.85 million Covid-19 patients have recovered, which Bhushan said is one of the highest number of recoveries in the world. Deaths per million population in India are 58 against the global average of 118, amongst the lowest in the world, the Union health secretary said.

India is the second worst affected country by the coronavirus disease in the world after the United States and is followed by Brazil.