Maharashtra, Kerala, three other states account for 84% of India’s total COVID-19 cases

New Delhi: India’s total COVID-19 active cases stand at 1.68 lakh with five states accounting for 84.16 percent of the active infections, while six states and UTs have a weekly positivity rate higher than the national average of 2 per cent, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday. Maharashtra and Kerala alone account for 67.84 percent of total active cases, it said. Six states and UTs including Maharashtra, Kerala, Goa, Chandigarh, Punjab and Gujarat have a weekly positivity rate higher than the national average of two percent. Maharashtra leads all the states with a weekly positivity rate of 10.02 percent, the ministry said. India’s total COVID-19 active caseload stands at 1,68,358 as the country added 12,286 new cases in a span of 24 hours. The country’s present active caseload now consists of 1.51 percent of India’s total infections. The ministry said 80.33 percent of the new cases are from five states. Maharashtra continues to report the highest daily new cases at 6,397. It is followed by Kerala with 1,938 while Punjab reported 633 new cases. The Centre is continuously engaging with the states and UTs manifesting higher caseload of active cases and those reporting a rise in the daily new COVID-19 cases. “They have been advised to maintain a continued rigorous vigil for containing the spread of COVID-19. Need for effective testing, comprehensive tracking, prompt isolation of positive cases and quick quarantine of close contacts are strongly emphasised,” the ministry said. “Eight states are displaying an upward trajectory in daily new cases,” it highlighted. Five states - Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Punjab and Tamil Nadu - cumulatively account for 84.16 percent of the total active cases in the country. Maharashtra alone accounts for 46.82 percent of India’s total active cases, followed by Kerala with 28.61 percent. A total of 1,48,54,136 vaccine doses have been administered as per the provisional report till Tuesday 7 am. These include 67,04,613 Healthcare workers (HCW) who got the first dose, 25,97,799 HCWs (second dose) and 53,44,453 frontline workers (FLW) who got the first dose, 24,279 beneficiaries aged more than 45 years with specific co-morbidities (first dose) and 1,82,992 beneficiaries aged more than 60 years. The second dose of COVID-19 vaccination started on 13 February for those beneficiaries who have completed 28 days after receipt of the first dose. Vaccination of the frontline workers (FLWs) started on 2 February. The total COVID-19 recoveries have surged to 1,07,98,921 with 12,464 patients having been discharged in a span of 24 hours. “India’s recovery rate at 97.07 percent continues to be amongst the highest in the world,” the ministry said, adding that 86.55 percent of the new recovered cases are observed to be concentrated in six states. Maharashtra has reported the maximum number of single day recoveries with 5,754 newly recovered cases. A total of 3,475 people recovered in Kerala in a span of 24 hours followed by 482 in Tamil Nadu. Besides, 91 deaths were reported in a span of 24 hours. Six states account for 85.71 percent of the new deaths. Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties (30), Punjab follows with 18 daily deaths and Kerala reported 13 deaths. Nineteen states and UTs have not reported any COVID-19 deaths in a span of 24 hours. These are West Bengal, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Lakshadweep, Ladakh (UT), Sikkim, Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Arunachal Pradesh. .