Coronavirus / India records 60k COVID-19 recoveries in a day for 1st time, total recoveries 20L

New Delhi: India’s coronavirus disease (Covid-19) recoveries have crossed the two-million mark, as the number of recovering patients has outnumbered new viral infections, the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoH&FW) data showed.

At present, the number of active Covid-19 cases are less than 25% of the total number of the viral infections reported since January 30.

“When we talk about the viral caseload of a particular country, it is always the active cases that are counted. It is never the total number of positive cases,” said Rajesh Bhushan, secretary, MoH&FW.

Around 60,000 Covid-19 patients are recovering daily from their viral infection. While around 55,000 new Covid-19 cases are being reported a day.

A continuous uptick in average daily recoveries has led to India’s recovery rate at 73.18% and a low case fatality rate (CFR) at 1.92%.

Higher number of recoveries and declining fatality has shown that the country’s graded strategy has worked, according to the ministry.

“The number of hospitalisation cases has also reduced. A small percentage of Covid-19 patients need to be admitted to hospitals. Most of them recover from their viral infection under home isolation. Few Covid-19 patients are in need of a ventillator support. A majority of those who get admitted make a smooth recovery. However, the problem is by and large with high-risk cases such as senior citizens and those with comorbidities,” said Dr. Rommel Tickoo, senior consultant, department of internal medicine, Max Healthcare.

The government’s target is to bring down the percentage of Covid-19-related deaths to either 1% or below.

“As a result of collaborative and focussed efforts by the Centre and state/UT (Union Territory) governments built on effective implementation of the test, track and treat strategy of the Union government, 30 States/UTs are reporting lower CFR than the national average,” said the ministry in a statement.

Aggressive testing leads to early identification and isolation of positive cases. Besides, efficient clinical treatment has ensured the country’s Covid-19 fatality rate is low, said ministry officials.

India is testing around 900,000 swab samples daily and three million people have undergone Covid-19 tests since January 23, when Pune’s National Institute of Virology, under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), conducted the first test.

“The more you test, the more infected cases you will be able to identify. Initially, the positivity rate may seem to be climbing, but gradually it will come down. It is important to aggressively test so that we capture most of our infected in the early stages of the disease, and isolate them. It will cut the transmission cycle and also bring down deaths and increase recovery rates,” said T Jacob John, former head, virology department, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu.