New Delhi: The government said Thursday that it has been able to ‘cut coronavirus transmission’ and minimise its spread. It also said it has been able to increase the doubling time of COVID-19 cases during the 30-day nationwide lockdown.
The Union Health Ministry said that in the last 24 hours 1,409 new cases of coronavirus have been reported in India. The total number of infected persons now stands at 21,673. The death toll increased by 37 to 689, it added. The ministry also said that testing has been ramped up consistently.
Ramping up of testing facilities
CK Mishra, chairman of ‘Empowered Group Two’ briefed the press about the latest coronavirus situation in India. “One crucial weapon we employed during the 30-day lockdown period is RT-PCR test to ascertain if one has contracted the disease or not,” said Mishra.
The official asserted that testing has gone up considerably. He said that 15,000 tests were done till March 23. “However, by April 22, more than five lakh tests were conducted, which is about 33 times in 30 days. But we are conscious of the fact that this is not enough. We have to continuously ramp up testing in the country and we will do that,” pointed out Mishra.
Responsibilities of Empowered Groups
Two empowered groups have so far been formed. Their responsibilities are to suggest measures to ramp up healthcare and put the economy back on track. They will also have to reduce misery of people once the lockdown is lifted. Mishra is the chairman of ‘Empowered Group Two’. It has been tasked with coordinating availability of hospitals, isolation and quarantine facilities. It also is responsible for disease surveillance, testing and critical care training.
Successful in restricting spread of COVID-19
“The growth of COVID-19 cases has been more or less linear, not exponential,” said Mishra. This indicates that the strategies we adopted have succeeded in containing the infection to a particular level. Post imposition of lockdown, the number of new positive cases has increased by 16 times. However, testing has also increased by 24 times,” Mishra pointed out.
“During 30 days of lockdown, we have been able to cut transmission, minimise spread and increase doubling days of COVID-19. We have been able to consistently ramp up our testing. We are also prepared for the future in case the virus spreads further,” Mishra added.
Mishra also said that in the last month, the number of dedicated hospitals for treating coronavirus patients has been increased 3.5 times. The number of isolation beds has gone up by 3.6 times. He also claimed that India has done better than a majority of developed countries in dealing with the pandemic.
Health Ministry tally
Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said no new COVID-19 cases of the pandemic have been reported from 78 districts in the last 14 days. He also said, 4,257 COVID-19 patients, which is 19.89 per cent of those infected have been cured so far.
Tally compiled by PTI
State/UT Confirmed Discharged Deaths
Andaman & Nicobar 22 11 0
Andhra Pradesh 898 141 27
Arunachal Pradesh 1 1 0
Assam 35 19 1
Bihar 147 42 2
Chandigarh 27 14 0
Chhattisgarh 36 28 0
Delhi 2,248 724 48
Goa 7 7 0
Gujarat 2,407 179 103
Haryana 270 162 3
Himachal Pradesh 40 18 2
Jammu & Kashmir 407 81 5
Jharkhand 49 8 2
Karnataka 445 145 17
Kerala 447 316 2
Ladakh 16 12 0
Madhya Pradesh 1,609 155 81
Maharashtra 5,649 789 269
Manipur 2 2 0
Meghalaya 12 0 1
Mizoram 1 0 0
Odisha 89 33 1
Pondicherry 8 4 1
Punjab 257 53 16
Rajasthan 1,937 134 27
Tamil Nadu 1,683 752 20
Telangana 943 194 24
Tripura 2 1 1
Uttarakhand 46 23 0
Uttar Pradesh 1,507 187 21
West Bengal 428 103 15
Total 21,675 4,338 689