India: COVID-19 cases near 7.5 million

CHANDIGARH, India

India’s health ministry said the positivity rate of the coronavirus fell below 8% Sunday as coronavirus cases approach nearly 7.5 million, including more than 61,000 new cases.

A total of 61,871 cases were registered in the last 24 hours, with an additional 1,031 deaths. Cases stand at 7,494,551, while fatalities are at 114,031. Active cases has fallen below 800,000 to 783,311.

The ministry tweeted that the country has exponentially scaled up testing capacity. “The very high testing has resulted in the continuous falling POSITIVITY RATE. It has now fallen below 8%,” it said. “Very comprehensive testing has thus worked as a highly effective tool to curb the spread of #COVID19 infection. It also leads to early identification, prompt isolation & effective treatment of #COVID19 cases, and eventual low Fatality Rate.”

Two studies on the genome of COVID-19 conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and D/o Bio-Technology (DBT) suggest the virus is genetically stable and there are no major mutations.

India is the second worst-hit country, with experts saying it is likely to surpass US figures which tops global numbers.