Highlights
- WHO report says the USA has the highest COVID-19 cases per lakh population
- India’s recovery rate is almost 56 per cent, as of June 22: MoHFW
- 114.67 people per lakh population infected due to COVID19 across the globe
New Delhi: According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), the country has recorded over 4.25 lakh (4,25,282) coronavirus cases, as on June 22. Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan said on Monday via his official social media account that so far, for every one lakh population, the country has about 30.04 COVID-19 cases, while the global average stands over three times at 114.67 cases. He said that the country has performed well in tackling the pandemic. In a Tweet on Monday, he said, “India has one of the lowest cases per lakh population in spite of its high population density. This low figure is thus a testimony to the graded and pro-active approach the Government of India took for the management of COVID-19.”
The @WHO Situation Report-153 shows that India has one of the lowest cases per lakh population in spite of its high population density. This low figure is thus a testimony to the graded & pro-active approach the GoI took for the management of #COVID19.@MoHFW_INDIA pic.twitter.com/29mUTfSDaE
— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) June 22, 2020
Referring to data from the World Health Organisation’s situation report-153, MoHFW said in a statement that over 87 lakh (87,08,008) COVID-19 cases have been reported till June 21 worldwide which is about 114.67 cases per lakh population.
#COVID19India updates
India has 30.04 cases per lakh population while the global average is more than its triple at 114.67
????2,37,195 patients cured; 9,440 in last 24 hours
????Recovery rate 55.77%
????1,74,387 active cases
????69,50,493 samples testedRead: https://t.co/4rxzX6WyX5 pic.twitter.com/2YxEUHTYLp
— PIB India (@PIB_India) June 22, 2020
The Union Health Ministry said that the highest cases per lakh population had been reported from the United States of America (671.24 cases per lakh population), followed by Germany (583.88 cases per lakh population), the Spain (526.22 cases per lakh population), Brazil (489.42 cases per lakh population), and United Kingdom (448.86 cases per lakh population). It further said that Russia has 400.82 cases per lakh people, while Italy, Canada, Iran and Turkey have 393.52, 268.98, 242.82 and 223.53 cases, respectively.
While commenting on India’s performance in tackling the pandemic, Dr. S. P. Singh, Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Rookree said that while the cases per lakh population is quite low in India when compared to the global average and some other countries, however, the comparison should be effectively made in the context of several other variables such as age composition of the population, starting date of the pandemic, the regional spread of the pandemic, rural population which is almost unaffected in the country, among others. He said,
European countries are having a higher proportion of the aged population and therefore the number of cases may be higher due to this.
Professor K. Srinath Reddy, President, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) acknowledged the measures taken the government at the central, state and local levels and health authorities across the country to combat COVID-19. He highlighted that the main objective of the response to the epidemic is to keep the death rates down in the population. He added that as of now, the country’s death rate is lower than in the USA or Europe and while this rate will rise over time, it is likely to stay fairly low compared to many countries.
According to MoHFW, when lockdown started, the recovery rate among COVID-19 patients in the country was 7.1 per cent which has now improved to 55.77 per cent. The data provided by the Ministry shows that the COVID-19 testing infrastructure is continuously being ramped up and the number of government labs has been increased to 723 and the private labs to 262, adding up to a total of 985. Over 69.5 lakh (69,50,493) samples have been tested up to June 21, according to the data provided by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Also Read: Treating COVID Patients With Blood Plasma From Those Recovered Is Safe, Says Study
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