Eight states account for 86% corona cases, 87% deaths

Eight states account for 86% corona cases, 87% deaths

61% Daily Case Growth From Maha, Delhi, TN

Sushmi.Dey@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:

Eight states — Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Telangana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal — contributed 85.5% of the active Covid-19 caseload and 87% of total deaths due to the disease in India, indicating where the main challenge in combating the disease lies.

The data was shared by the health ministry with the group of ministers (GoM) on Covid-19, which met for the 17th time on Saturday and asked states to ramp-up testing and reach full national testing capacity of three-lakh samples a day.

Health minister Harsh Vardhan, who chaired the meeting, said the doubling time of Covid-19 cases has improved to 19 days from three days before the lockdown even as with the worst singleday jump of 18,552 cases, total Covid-19 cases surged to around 5 lakh on Saturday.

Dexamethasone can be used for treatment

The government on Saturday revised the clinical management protocol for treating Covid-19 patients to allow use of commonly used steroid dexamethasone—the first drug to show improved survival in severe Covid patients in recent trials by Oxford University. Research findings show dexamethasone lowers fatality in those needing oxygen by 20% and by 35% in those on a ventilator. Dexamethasone is under government price control, which makes it highly affordable. A strip of 20-tablets of 0.5 mg each is priced at Rs 6.38. P 7

CORONA BATTLE

India now has 1,026 diagnostic labs dedicated to Covid-19

Though total new cases are rapidly adding up to India’s total tally, data shows the daily rise in fresh cases is driven by some states, officials said.

Vardhan said with focused efforts to improve clinical management, recovery rate is also constantly improving. On Saturday, India recorded recovery rate of 58.13% with around 3 lakh people cured of Covid-19 so far. The fatality rate is near 3%.

TOI reported on Friday that a “natural recession” is to be seen in the Covid-19 pandemic in India with share of active cases – that are current carriers of the coronavirus infection and have a potential to spread it – declining steadily in the last two weeks. The daily rise in fresh cases is being primarily driven by three states – Delhi, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu – accounting for 61% of the daily case growth.

In an attempt to customise its containment efforts and take steps in focused manner, the health ministry has deployed 15 central teams consisting of public health experts, epidemiologists and a senior joint secretarylevel officer to provide support to the states, the ministry informed the GoM.

Another central team is currently visiting Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana to strengthen ongoing efforts for management of Covid-19, it said.

The GoM also discussed the utility of ITIHAS and Aarogya Setu App in contact-tracing and prediction of potential hotspot areas.

Balram Bhragava, director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research informed the GoM that the samples tested in the last 24 hours have increased to 2,20,479 taking the total cumulative number of samples tested, as on date, to 79,96,707. Tests per day being conducted in India are, however, lesser than daily testing capacity of three-lakh samples.

India now has1,026 diagnostic labs dedicated to Covid-19. This includes 741 in the government sector and 285 private labs, but their capacity remains under used.

The GoM was also apprised of the current Covid-related health infrastructure. According to the data shared, there are 1,039 dedicated Covid hospitals with 1,76,275 isolation beds, 22,940 ICU beds and 77,268 oxygen-supported beds, the ministry said. Also, 2,398 dedicated Covid Health Centres with 1,39,483 isolation beds, 11,539 ICU beds and 51,321 oxygen-supported beds have been operationalised.

Moreover, 8,958 Covid Care Centres with 8,10,621 beds are now available in the country. The Centre has provided 185.18 lakh N95 masks and 116.74 lakh personal protective equipment to the states, UTs and central institutions. TNN