Covid-19 Factoid: India sees record recovery in Aug, but not yet in safe zone

Among top five countries with the highest number of cases, India's recovery rate is the second-lowest

The global confirmed case for the coronavirus tally currently stands at 20.5 million, of which 6.3 million cases are active at present. There have been around 13.4 million recoveries globally, while fatalities have risen to 747,003. There are three countries with over 2 million cases each: the US, Brazil and India. 

India has 643,948 active cases at present, roughly 27 per cent of the confirmed case count. There have been 1,639,599 recoveries in the country, while 46,091 patients have lost their lives. Two states--Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu--have more than 300,000 confirmed cases each. 

Here are some data points on the pandemic:

1. India’s recovery rate crosses the 70 per cent mark 

In some positive news, 70 per cent of all reported coronavirus cases in India have now recovered. The steepest rise in the recovery rate has been in the month of August, with the recovery rate gaining almost six percentage points in just 12 days. However, among the top five countries with the highest number of cases, India’s recovery rate is the second-lowest, after the US. 

2. West Bengal enters the 100,000-reported cases club

West Bengal is now the sixth state in India to have more than 100,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus. In the past 25 days, the state has reported more than 2,000 fresh cases every single day, with the highest single-day spike reported on August 7 at 2,954 cases. Roughly 25 per cent of all cases in West Bengal are active. The state’s death toll stands at over 2,000.

3. Maharashtra’s test positivity rate continues to remain high

Maharashtra, which has the highest confirmed case count as well as the number of fatalities in the country, also has the highest test positivity rate, indicating the tally could be much worse when the testing rates are ramped up. At 18.4 per cent, it is twice as much as the national average of 9 per cent. Maharashtra is followed by Telangana and Puducherry.