Coronavirus outbreak: Recovery rate rises from 13% to 25% in 14 days

More than 78% who died had co-morbidities; 60+ age group accounts for 51% of deaths, 45-60 age group for 35% of deaths

As India’s Covid-19 death toll rose to 1,075 and confirmed cases reached 33,610, the health ministry on Thursday said the recovery rate of patients had jumped from 13 to 25 per cent in the past two weeks.  Since Wednesday evening, there were 67 deaths and 1,823 new cases in the country. So far, 8,325 patients have been cured of the disease.
 

While the doubling average of cases in the country is 11 days, many states are seeing a longer interval in doubling of cases. In Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, and Punjab, the doubling is taking from 11 to 20 days. However, states such as Karnataka, Haryana, Kerala, and Uttarakhand are seeing the doubling rate ranges between 20 to 40 days. In some states, the average is more than 40 days such as in Assam, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Himachal Pradesh.

With the decision on further extension of the lockdown still unknown, Lav Agarwal, joint secretary, health ministry, said: “Physical distancing is a behavioural change we all have to adopt in our daily lives to break the chain of transmission. We will focus on containment measures, which are equally important...There are areas of concern where more cases are being found and we are coordinating with these states.”

India’s Covid-19 fatality rate is at 3.2 per cent. An analysis of the data available continues to underline the trend that more men are susceptible to the disease. Of the total deaths, 65 per cent were among males and 35 per cent among females. Over 78 per cent of those who died had co-morbidities, with more than 51 per cent deaths among those above 60 years of age. Thirty-five per cent of deaths were seen in the age bracket between 45 and 60.

The total number of districts in the red zone has come down to 130, from 170 as of April 15. There are 284 districts in the orange zone, where limited cases have been found, up from 207 two weeks ago. The number of districts in the green zone, where there are no confirmed cases so far or in the past 21 days, has gone down to 319 from 353, according to the ministry data.
 

Agarwal said the US National Institute Allergic and Infectious Diseases study hasn’t proved Remdesivir’s effectiveness. “We are waiting for larger evidence,” Agarwal said.