Only 20 pc COVID-19 patients need ICU support: Lav Aggarwal

Union Health Ministry on Sunday said that only 20 percent of coronavirus patients need ICU support and critical care.

"On March 29, we had 979 positive cases, now that we have 8,356 positive cases; of these only 20 percent cases need ICU support. So as of today, 1,671 patients need oxygen support and critical care treatment. This figure is important to show that the government is planning things well and is over-prepared," said Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

"With the rise in case of coronavirus, we are increasing number dedicated COVID-19 hospitals and number of isolation centers in the country," he added.

He said that the medical staff has been given proper training on ventilator management and how to manage biological waste, biomedical waste, cleanliness, infection spread prevention, etc.

When asked about the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in last few days in China, Japan and Korea he said, "It is a cause of concern for us too, so we need to make sure that we continue to follow our containment and social distancing measures like we are following today.