India also reached another milestone of testing 9.5 crores samples so far

The downwards trend continued in India as the national cumulative positivity rate of COVID-19 cases remained below 8 per cent for the fourth consecutive day while the total active cases remained under 8 lakhs for the third consecutive day.

The data released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare suggests that on Monday, the cumulative national case positivity rate was estimated at 7.94 per cent following the downwards trend.

On October 15, the rate was estimated at 8.01 per cent which declined to 7.99 per cent on October 16. It further declined to 7.97 per cent on October 17 and declined to 7.95 per cent on October 18. India's active caseload stands at 7,72,055.

India also reached another milestone in testing 9.5 crores samples so far. India tested around 8,59,786 samples for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.

In a statement, the health ministry said, “As evidence has revealed, higher numbers of testing on a sustained basis have aided in bringing down the positivity rate. The decline in the cumulative positivity rate has demonstrated that the rate of spread of infection is being effectively contained.”

With this, India’s daily recoveries once again surpassed the daily new infections. India, in the past 24 hours reported 66,399 recoveries against 55,722 new reported cases. The total number of recoveries rose to 66,63,608.

Of the new recoveries, the highest number was reported in Maharashtra. Total recoveries in the state stood at 11, 204 followed by 8,410 of Kerala and 8,344 of Karnataka.

Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh each reported over 4,000 recoveries while over 3,000 recoveries were reported each from Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Delhi, Odisha and Chhattisgarh also reported over 2,000 recoveries each.

“Higher testing across wide regions leads to early identification of positive cases, prompt tracking through efficient surveillance and tracing, and timely & effective treatment in homes/facilities and in hospitals for the severe cases. These measures in tandem eventually lead to lower mortality rate,” the ministry said.

India reported a total of 55,722 new cases of COVID-19 and 579 deaths, below the daily average, in the past 24 hours.

The highest number of cases at 9,060 and 150 deaths were reported from Maharashtra. Kerala reported 7,631 cases and 22 deaths while Karnataka reported 7,012 cases and 51 deaths. Similarly, Andhra Pradesh reported 3,986 cases and 23 new deaths while West Bengal reported 3,983 cases and 64 deaths.

The total number of cases reported in India has crossed 75 lakh mark. India has reported 75,50,273 cases so far of which 1,14,610 people have lost their lives.