More Than 1 Million Patients Recovered From COVID-19 Till Now In India: Health Ministry

New Delhi: Even as COVID-19 cases continue to surge in various parts of India, more than 1 million people have recovered and discharged till now, informed Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary, Ministry of Health, here on Thursday.  “More than 1 million people have recovered from COVID-19 in the country. This landmark recovery has been achieved because of the selfless work and dedication of our doctors, nurses and frontline workers,” Mr Bhushan said at a press conference. Giving the number of cured persons, Mr Bhushan said, “More than 1,020,000 patients have recovered. They have been discharged. It is a great achievement.”

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He said, “The recovery rate has shown positive trends. It was 7.85 per cent in April and today it is 64.4 per cent, which is another heartening news which tells us that whatever battle is put by the Union government in collaboration with state governments is showing results.”

Sixteen states of the country have a recovery rate that is more than the national average. Of these, Delhi has a recovery rate of 88 per cent, Ladakh 80 per cent, Haryana 78 per cent, Assam 76 per cent, Telangana 74 per cent, Tamil Nadu & Gujarat 73 per cent, Rajasthan 70 per cent, Madhya Pradesh 69 per cent and Goa 68 per cent, Mr Bhushan said.

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He said effective clinical management lead to a decrease in case fatality rate. In June it was 3.33 per cent and now 2.21 per cent.

Mr Bhushan said the case fatality rate in India today is 2.21 per cent and it’s among the lowest in the world. Twenty-four states and Union Territories have lesser fatality rate than that of the country.

Herd immunity developed against coronavirus cannot be a strategic option or choice for a country like India with a huge population, said an official from the Union Health Ministry on Thursday.

Herd immunity is a kind of indirect protection from an infectious disease like COVID-19. Experts say that herd immunity happens only when the population becomes immune either through vaccination or its immunity is developed through a previous infection.

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In a country like India with its size and population, herd immunity cannot be a strategic choice or strategic option. It can only be an outcome and that too, a very high cost. That means, thousands or lakhs of patients get infected, they go to a hospital for treatment, resulting in a large fatality and hence, herd immunity can never be a strategic option, said Mr Bhushan.

“Herd immunity can only be achieved through immunization and that is far in future and it is important that we should follow Covid-19 preventive measures i.e. wear face masks, maintain social distancing and hand hygiene,” said me Bhushan.

Over 18,190,000 tests have been conducted in the country including RT-PCR and rapid antigen tests. There has been a week-on-week increase in average tests per day. India is conducting 324 test per 10 lakhs population per day, Mr Bhushan said.

He added, three vaccine candidates, are in phase 3 clinical trial. These three are in the US, UK and China. In India, two indigenously developed vaccine candidates are in phase I and II of clinical trials. Trial of the first vaccine involves 1,150 subjects at eight sites, second on 1,000 subjects at five sites.

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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.