COVID-19 has infected less than 2% of India's total population so far, and 98 percent of the population is still susceptible or vulnerable to the infection, the health ministry said at a press briefing held on Tuesday.
"Despite the high number of cases reported so far, we have been able to contain the spread to under 2 per cent of population," said Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal during a press briefing as reported by The Financial Express.
To prevent the virus from spreading further, the minister stressed on the importance of continuing to observe Covid appropriate behaviour, containment and not to let our guards down.
According to the government data, in the last 15 days, active cases have continued to decrease. It has dropped to 13.33% as compared to 17.13% of overall cases on May 3.
However, Lav pointed out that 22 States in India are with more than 15% positivity rate which is a "matter of concern". At the same time, the rate of positivity has decreased in 26 states.
Maharashtra, UP, Delhi, Bihar, MP and Chhattisgarh are among the states that have witnessed a decline in positivity rate while Tamil Nadu is still showing an increase in the active cases.
As of May 18, 2,19,86,363 people have already recovered in India, while 2,83,248 have succumbed to Covid-19.
Also Read: Data Of Decline In COVID Cases In India Is Not Reliable: WHO Expert