NEW DELHI: Of the 5,28,242 active Covid-19 cases in the country, about 1,580 patients are on the ventilator, 8,504 in the ICU, and 12,255 on oxygen support, according to the Union government figures.
This data was discussed in a meeting of a group of ministers on Covid-19 headed by Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Harsh Vardhan.
In the meeting, Vardhan said the country has conducted a record 6,42,588 tests in the last 24 hours taking the number of cumulative tests to more than 1.88 crore — and now the testings are being done through a network of 1,331 labs.
Dr. Sujeet K Singh, director of the National Centre for Disease Control, said that the overall recovery rate for India is 64.54% with the highest recovery rate being recorded in Delhi at 89.08%, followed by Haryana (79.82%). Karnataka has the lowest recovery rate of 39.36%.
The ministers were also apprised of the ramping up of the domestic production capacities of various sectors for manufacturing PPEs, masks, ventilators, and drugs such as hydroxychloroquine, the health ministry said in a statement.
In terms of healthcare logistics, cumulatively 268.25 lakh N95 masks, 120.4 lakh PPEs, and 1083.77 lakh HCQ tablets have been distributed to states and central institutions.
Dr Singh underlined that efforts are being made to reduce mortality in high case load districts and cities showing recent upsurge such as Pune, Thane, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.
The measures being taken include revamping the strategy for effective management of containment zones through stricter perimeter control, widespread rapid antigen tests, intensive & rapid door-to-door search, more isolation facilities for suspects and patients, and standard case management protocols along with the increase in oxygen-supported beds and ventilators.
In addition, the true burden of the disease is also being assessed through planned sero-surveys, the government said.
“In moderate case load districts and cities, the efforts would focus on preventing spill-over from the high burden areas, limiting local spread, early identification of cases, strengthening contact tracing with the use of technology and community involvement,” read the ministry statement.
As for the low burden districts, the efforts aimed at preventing infection among the population from other areas, strengthening influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory illness surveillance and targeted testing, rigorous contact tracing with targets to be set by the local administration and prior identification of high-risk populations.