AMARAVATI: In a major breakthrough setting a precedent for other states, Andhra Pradesh government led by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Sunday said that it has conducted over one million COVID-19 tests in the state till date to combat COVID-19. The state recorded 10,17,123 tests as on Sunday morning.

“Andhra Pradesh has crossed one million COVID-19 tests, logging 10,17,123 tests as on Sunday morning. With extensive testing and timely treatment, the mortality rate stands at 1.24 per cent which is much lower than the national average of 2.86 per cent,” the Andhra Chief Minster’s Office stated in a release.

“While it took 59 days to complete the first one lakh COVID-19 tests, the state has consistently increased the testing capacity and completed the last three lakh tests in just 12 days,” the release added.

The state government also said that the tests per million population in Andhra Pradesh have reached 19,047 against the national average of 6,878 tests per million.

A total of 78 laboratories including government, private, and TrueNat labs along with dedicated hospitals for treating COVID patients are conducting the tests.

YS Jagan led Andhra government has adopted a three-pronged strategy of tracing, testing, and treatment to contain the spread and intensity of COVID-19. The government is also providing financial assistance of Rs 2,000 to the patients discharged from hospital.

Andhra Pradesh tested 20,567 samples in the last 24 hours, out of which 998 tested positive for COVID-19. With this, the cumulative coronavirus cases in the state rose to 18,697 on Sunday. According to the bulletin released by the state health department on July 5, AP reported 14 deaths in the past 24 hours and the toll rose 232.