With nearly a 50 per cent drop in average daily infections compared to last week, Uttar Pradesh has come down to the ninth slot on the list of states with heavy caseload of Covid-19. The relieving decline came after UP had briefly climbed to number two on the same ranking.
On April 24, daily fresh cases in Uttar Pradesh jumped rapidly to cross the 37,000-mark. On May 13, the number of new infections in the state fell to 17,745 and to 6,681 on May 20.
In terms of daily deaths, India's most populous state has a low Covid fatality rate, available data show.
According to the latest health ministry figures, only five districts in Uttar Pradesh have a positivity rate more than ten.
Positivity rates denote the proportion of confirmed cases out of the total tests done.
High positivity means a relatively high transmission of infection.
Dr Ved Prakash, the chief pulmonologist at Lucknow's KGMU, explains that the positivity rate of Covid RT-PCR samples is continuously dipping in Uttar Pradesh.
The state, he said, is now geared up and preparing upfront to combat a possible third wave.
Lt-Gen (Retired) B.N.B.M. Prasad, advisor at Uttar Pradesh's Medical Education Department, attributed the case decline to what he described as the state's rapid response in villages, which he said involved aggressive testing.
After Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, UP has recorded the maximum number of total cases (16.45 lakh) till Wednesday.
With a total of 18,352 Covid-related deaths happening in the state till Wednesday, UP has registered the fifth-highest fatalities from the pandemic in the country.
Maharashtra (84,371), Karnataka (23,306), Delhi (22,579) and Tamil Nadu (18,734) have recorded more deaths than Uttar Pradesh till now, available data show.
However, with the cases on the decline, the number of deaths has also dropped in the state.
Daily new deaths in Uttar Pradesh touched a record high of 372 on May 7 and came down to 280 on Wednesday.