India logs record 40 cr Covid tests
New Delhi: India has achieved the milestone of conducting 40 crore Covid tests, with an average of more than 18 lakh tests per day in the month of June, the ICMR said on Saturday. India has tested 40,18,11,892 samples across the country till Friday, it said.
A single-day rise of 48,698 COVID-19 infections took India's case tally to 3,01,83,143 while the weekly positivity rate declined to 2.97 per cent, according to Union Health ministry data on Saturday.
The death toll climbed to 3,94,493 with 1,183 more people succumbing to the viral disease in a day.
The number of active cases has further declined to 5,95,565 and now accounts for 1.97 per cent of the total infections, the data updated at 8 am showed.
On the other hand, Tamil Nadu registered its first death due to the Delta Plus variant of COVID-19 with a person from Madurai succumbing to it, according to the state health department.
Minister for Medical and Family Welfare Ma Subramanian said three positive cases of the new 'Delta Plus' variant were identified of which two have recovered. Those who tested positive for the Delta Plus variant include a 32-year-old nurse from Chennai and another individual from the Kancheepuram district.
"After the death of the Madurai patient, the samples were collected, which confirmed that it was 'Delta Plus' variant," he said. However, the patient's contacts have tested negative.
According to the Union Health ministry, after Maharashtra with the maximum of 20 cases of 'Delta Plus', nine people in Tamil Nadu have tested positive for the new variant as of Friday.
At least eight persons have been found infected with the Delta Plus variant in Madhya Pradesh so far, state Medical Education minister Vishwas Sarang said on Saturday, adding none of the contacts of these patients was found to be infected with this strain.
According to officials, two persons who died in May this year were found to be infected with the Delta Plus variant.
The Centre has urged Karnataka to take up immediate containment measures, including preventing crowds, conducting widespread testing as well as increasing vaccine coverage on a priority basis in districts where the Delta Plus variant of COVID-19 has been detected.
Meanwhile, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said in a statement: "This has been enabled by rapidly increasing testing infrastructure and capacity across the country. ICMR has been enhancing COVID-19 testing capability across the country by expanding and diversifying testing capacity by leveraging technology and facilitating innovation in affordable diagnostic kits."
Prof Balram Bhargava, Director General, ICMR said an exponential increase in testing has led to early identification, prompt isolation and effective treatment of COVID-19 cases. These have eventually resulted in a sustained low fatality rate.
"This testing milestone is testimony to the fact that India has been successful in implementing the strategy of 5T approach 'Test, Track, Trace, Treat and use of Technology' efficiently, which will enable us to contain the spread of the pandemic," the statement quoted Bhargava as saying.
