Positivity rate keeps dropping
91 more die of Covid
The positivity rate of Covid-19 tests continued to decline for the fifth consecutive day yesterday.
During the 24 hours ending at 8:00am yesterday, the positivity rate was 16.85 percent against 27,056 tests in 265 laboratories across the country. Ninety-one people died of Covid during that period.
On the previous day (Monday), the positivity rate was 17.68 percent. It was 19.06 percent on Sunday, 21.46 percent on Saturday, and 23.36 percent on Friday, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) data.
The positivity rate -- the percentage of positive cases against the total number of tests in a day -- is one of the important parameters to measure the level of virus transmission in any area.
According to the World Health Organization, the transmission of the virus would be considered under control if the positivity rate remains below five percent for three weeks.
Throughout January and February, the positivity rate remained below five percent as the virus transmission declined to its lowest. It had its peak in June and July last year.
The country, however, saw the second wave as the positivity rate started rising again from the second week of March, leading the government to impose the ongoing countrywide movement restrictions.
In those 24 hours yesterday, 91 people died of Covid and 4,559 people tested positive for the virus, raising the tally of deaths to 10,588 and confirmed cases to 7,27,780, according to a DGHS press release.
Yesterday's death toll was also lower than that of the previous few days.
On Monday, 112 people died, which was the highest so far in a day while 102 died on Sunday. On Friday and Saturday, the number was 101.
The death rate is now 1.45 percent.
In the same 24 hours, 6,811 Covid-19 patients recovered.
The total number of recoveries is 6,28,111 and the recovery rate is 86.31 percent.
Among the 91 deceased, 58 were men and 33 were women.
Of them, one was between 11-20 years old; seven were within 31-40 years old; 11 between 41-50; 18 within 51-60; and 54 were above 60 years old, added the release.