NEW DELHI:
Daily Covid-19 cases in India rose to over 38,000 on Tuesday after dropping below 30,000 the previous day but the number of tests conducted in the country continued to remain low for the fourth day running.
There were 8,44,382 tests conducted in India on Monday, as per the covid19india website quoting ICMR data. For the
first time in three months, the daily number of tests has remained below 9 lakh for three days running (Saturday to Monday). On Friday too, some 9.3 lakh tests were conducted.
These numbers were far less than the average of 11.6 lakh tests achieved from Tuesday to Thursday last week and in many days in previous weeks. The last time the number of daily tests was below 9 lakh for three straight days was on August 15-17.
Festivals (
Diwali and Bhai Dooj) and the weekend appear to be the main reasons for the drop in testing. Predictably, during this period, daily cases have seen a sharp dip. While 44,550 cases were recorded on Friday, the numbers dropped to 42,107, 30,126 and 28,574, respectively, on subsequent days.
On Tuesday, India recorded 38,738 fresh infections, a rise of more than 10,000 over the previous day. The
death toll too rose to 477, an increase from the previous three days when 454, 426 and 451 deaths had been recorded.
For the second day running, Delhi reported the highest count of cases as well as deaths in the country. The Capital registered 6,396 cases and 99 deaths. Kerala reported the second highest number of cases at 5,792, followed by Bengal (3,654) and Maharashtra (2,840).
Bengal had the third highest daily toll of 52, behind Maharashtra (68).
In
Tamil Nadu, all districts except for Perambalur reported fresh cases. The state logged 1,652 infections, taking the total case tally to 7,61,568. However, public health experts expressed concern that the significant drop in new and active cases could partly be because of a fall in testing.
Kerala, where the number of new cases has reduced significantly in November, could have a total caseload of 6.6 lakh cases by December 12, according to a new projection. In October, this was the number of cases projected for November 12. The state currently has recorded 5,08,257 cases.