COVID-19 tests in India crosses 1 crore mark as testing lab network expands

In a significant development,  the total number of COVID-19 test conducted in India crossed the one-crore mark in India on Monday, an ICMR official said. Meanwhile, India's total COVID-19 cases rise to 719,665 of which 259,557 are active while 439,948 people have recovered. 20,160 people have died thus far. 

According to sources, Around 2,00,000 samples have been tested on an average daily for the last 14 days, he said.

"A cumulative total of 1,00,04,101 samples have been tested till 11 am on Monday with 1,80,596 samples being tested on July 5," Scientist and media coordinator at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Dr Lokesh Sharma said.

Furthermore, the Centre has strongly advised states and UTs to take immediate steps to facilitate testing at the earliest by enabling all qualified medical practitioners, including private practitioners, to prescribe COVID test to any individual fulfilling the criteria for testing as per the ICMR guidelines.

READ: COVID-19: India has 1.64L more recovered patients than active cases, says Health Ministry

READ: Coronavirus Live Updates: India's tally crosses 7 lakh-mark with 22,252 fresh cases

There are now 1,105 testing labs in the country

There are now 1,105 testing labs in the country comprising 788 in the public sector and 317 private labs. The per-day testing capacity is also fast-growing, Sharma said.

 The national COVID-19 positivity rate was found to be 6.73% in India, while many states have reported even lower positivity rates. The data showed that the number of people testing positive in the country has declined by more than significantly over the past month. The positivity rate indicates the number of specimens that turn out positive per hundred samples tested every day.

READ: COVID-19: India has 1.64L more recovered patients than active cases, says Health Ministry

READ: Coronavirus Live Updates: India's tally crosses 7 lakh-mark with 22,252 fresh cases