Early detection, testing played pivotal role in fighting Covid-19: Govt

Early identification of the COVID-19 infections through timely and aggressive testing has played a pivotal role in India's strategy to fight the pandemic, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday as the cumulative testing reached 3,76,51,512.

Following the Centre-led policy of'test-track-treat', collaborative efforts of the state and UT governments have led to India consistently ramping up its testing infrastructure to touch a capacity of 10 lakh tests/day, the ministry said.

The cumulative testing as on date has reached 3,76,51,512, with 8,23,992 tests being conducted in a span of 24 hours on Tuesday.

"Such high level of testing on a sustained basis leads to early diagnosis. Early diagnosis provides opportunities to isolate or hospitalise the positive cases adequately in advance. This in turn facilitates lower mortality rates," the ministry said.

The total number of COVID-19recoveries in India has surged to 24,67,758, pushing the coronavirus recovery rate to over 76 per cent while the case mortality rate stands at 1.84 per cent, according to the data updated at 8 am.

The record high recoveries have ensured that the number of active cases of COVID-19, which is the "actual caseload" of the country, comprise only 21.87 per cent of the total cases, the ministry highlighted.

The ministry underscored that 7-day average rolling numbers of tests per day indicate the determined, focussed, consistent and coordinated efforts of the Centre and the state and UT governments in this direction.

Expanded diagnostic lab network and facilitation for easy testing across the country have given a substantial boost. Building on this achievement, the Tests Per Million (TPM) have seen a sharp increase to 27,284.

It continues to maintain the constant upward trend, it said.

The growing network of testing labs offer expanded opportunities to strengthen the testing facilities across the country. There are a total of 1,540 labs today, including 992 labs in the government sector and 548 private labs.

India's novel coronavirus tally rose to 32.34 lakh with 67,151 more people testing positive for the infection in a day, while the death toll from the disease climbed to 59,449 with 1,059 new fatalities being reported in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed.