Districts with Covid positivity rate over 10% down to 105, sign of further retreat of virus

On Thursday, the Ministry had said that 141 districts had a weekly positivity rate more than 10 per cent. Two weeks ago, 388 districts in the country were above this positivity threshold.

The steady decline in the number of districts with a high positivity rate corresponds to the decline in the number of cases being reported across the country in recent weeks. On Sunday,

Positivity fall signals further retreat of virus the ministry said the number of new cases across the country was 44,877 — this was the first time since January 4 that daily detections fell below 50,000; 58,097 cases had been reported on that day.

The daily positivity rate on Sunday, however, stood at 3.17 per cent, not much lower than the 3.48 per cent reported the previous day. The national weekly positivity rate was 4.46 per cent on Sunday, compared with the 10.20 per cent reported in the previous week.

India’s active caseload currently stands at 5,37,045, a 56 per cent decline from the figure reported in the previous week (12.25 lakh active cases). The active caseload is likely to fall below 5 lakh in the next few days.

The decline in the active caseload indicates a lighter burden on the health care system due to severe cases of Covid-19.

A total 105 districts reported more than 10 per cent positivity between February 5 and February 11, data from the ministry show. During the same period, 480 districts reported less than 5 per cent positivity.

Five states currently have more than 10 districts with a positivity rate more than 10 per cent: Rajasthan (17), Kerala (14), and Maharashtra, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram (11 each).

Positivity rates above 5 per cent are considered to be cause for concern. The health ministry has repeatedly asked for local containment and surveillance in districts reporting positivity rates of more than 5 per cent.