Hyderabad, Jul 31 (IANS): In a steepest single-day jump so far, Telangana reported 1,986 new novel coronavirus cases and 14 deaths on Friday, officials said.

The new cases pushed the state's total tally to 62,703 while the death toll mounted to 519.

The highest single-day jump so far was 1,924 recorded on July 8. Since then, the cases were on the decline and had stabilized around 1,500 per day.

However, for the last three days, the state has been witnessing a spike in new infections. The health officials attributed this to the increased number of tests.

The authorities conducted a record 21,380 tests during the last 24 hours ending 8 pm on Thursday. For the first time, the state conducted over 20,000 tests.

According to a media bulletin released on Friday by Public Health and Family Welfare Director's office, the daily testing target for the state as per the World Health Organisation (WHO) benchmark of 140 per million is 5,600 tests per day. Test results of 1,216 samples are awaited.

The officials also claim that at 0.82 per cent, the fatality rate in the state is still much below the national average of 2.20 per cent.

Percentage of deaths due to comorbidities is stated to be 53.87 per cent.

The state also has recorded a high recovery rate of 72.3 per cent as against the national average of 64 per cent. As many as 816 patients recovered during the last 24 hours, taking the total recoveries to 45,388.

The total active cases stand at 16,796, including 10,632 individuals lodged in home or institutional isolation. More than 84 per cent of those under home isolation are asymptomatic.

The break-up of the positive cases shows that Greater Hyderabad, the epicentre of coronavirus infections, reported 586 cases. However, the state capital's share in overall cases continues to decline due to a spike in other districts.

Both Rangareddy and Medchal Malkajgiri districts bordering Greater Hyderabad saw 205 and 207 new cases respectively. Sangareddy, another district which shares its border with Greater Hyderabad, reported 108 new infections.

Districts of Karimnagar and Warangal Urban saw a surge by 116 and 123 cases respectively.