Thirty-five states and Union territories in the country are performing more than 140 COVID-19 tests per day per million population, while 22 states and UTs have COVID-19 positivity rate less than the national average, the health ministry said on Thursday. The cumulative positivity rate stands at 8.19 per cent, it said. The national average of COVID-19 tests per day per million population is 865, the ministry said, asserting that the country has demonstrated an exponential increase in the COVID-19 testing infrastructure since January 2020.

"As evidence has revealed, higher number of testing on a sustained basis has aided in bringing down the positivity rate. The sharp decline in national cumulative positivity rate has demonstrated that the rate of spread of infection is being contained," the ministry underlined. The country's testing capacities have multiplied manifolds. More than 15 lakh samples can be tested every day, it said."India has performed remarkably on fulfilling WHO's advise of 140 tests/day/million population," the health ministry underscored.