Less than 2 per cent of the total population in India has been affected by COVID-19 so far and 98 per cent of the population is still susceptible or vulnerable to the infection, the government said on Tuesday.

“Despite the high number of cases reported so far, we have been able to contain the spread to under 2 pc of population,” said Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal.

The government said that of the total population in India, 1.8 per cent has been affected by COVID-19 so far and 98 per cent of the population is still susceptible or vulnerable to the infection. The government said a continued decline has been noted in active cases in the last 15 days. From 17.13 per cent of the total caseload reported on May 3, it has reduced to 13.3 per cent, it added.

Eight states have more then 1 lakh active COVID-19 cases and 22 states have more than 15 per cent case positivity, it said.

Maharashtra, UP, Delhi, Bihar, MP, and Chhattisgarh have shown a decline in COVID-19 cases and a decline in positivity, the government said.

There are 199 districts showing a continued decline in COVID-19 cases and positivity since the last two weeks, it said.