Despite fall in national average, 5 states see big surge in coronavirus cases: Data

New Delhi, Oct 06: Government data showed that five states across the country have been reporting a surge in the cases of the coronavirus even though India has witnessed a steady decline in daily COVID-19 cases in the last three weeks.

According to reports, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh saw a huge surge in the novel coronavirus cases between September 13 and October 4 even though the national average dipped. India registered a 37 per cent growth in cases during this period in a decline from the 56 per cent uptick in the previous three weeks.

According to central and state government data, coronavirus cases in Kerala rose by 112 per cent during this period, in Chhattisgarh, it was a 93 per cent rise, Uttarakhand saw 61 per cent, and Odisha and Madhya Pradesh both registered a 54 per cent increase in the number of infections.

There were some states which reported lower rates of infections than these five. In Bihar, there have been 19 per cent rise in COVID-19 cases in the past three weeks and has been the lowest any state has seen. Bihar was followed by Tamil Nadu where these cases grew by 23 per cent, then Gujarat with 26 per cent, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana with 27 per cent and Assam reported a 32 per cent increase in the cases of the coronavirus disease between September 13 and October 4.

Data also showed that Maharashtra saw a 36 per cent growth in coronavirus cases and the second hardest-hit region of Karnataka reported a 39 per cent rise.

The government has said that India's positivity rate of coronavirus infections is "steadily maintained" below 10 per cent, the cumulative is 8.28 per cent and the daily figure is 7.52 per cent. Positivity rate shows the proportion of people who test positive among those who are tested.

The government has also said that several states and Union territories are exhibiting positivity rate, which is a crucial metric for understanding the coronavirus pandemic, higher than the national average indicating a need for aggressive and widespread testing.