COVID-19 situation improving in India, mortality rate 3.1 pc while globally it's 7 pc: Harsh Vardhan

The mortality rate of COVID-19 patients in India is 3.1 per cent as compared to 7 per cent globally, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday while asserting that the coronavirus situation in the country is improving as many hotspot districts are moving towards becoming non-hotspots.

As many as 5,913 people have been cured of the disease so far which puts the recovery rate around 22 per cent, also better than most countries, he said.

Giving an update on the COVID-19 situation in the country, the minister said the doubling rate of coronavirus cases has been showing regular improvement and stands at 10.5 days when seen over a period of three days.

"It is 9.3 days seen over a period of seven days and 8.1 days over a period of 14 days. These indicators may be taken as positive effects of the countrywide lockdown along with the cluster management and containment strategies," Vardhan was quoted as saying in a health ministry statement.

As on date, 283 districts have not reported any case of coronavirus infection. Also, 64 districts have not reported any new case in the last seven days while 48 districts have not reported a fresh case in the last 14 days, he said.

Besides, 33 districts have not reported a fresh case in the last 21 days and 18 districts have not reported any new case in the last 28 days, Vardhan said.

On April 15, the health ministry had declared 170 districts COVID-19 hotspots and 207 districts non-hotspots.

Hotspots are those districts which are reporting a large number of cases or where the rate of growth of COVID-19 cases is high, the ministry had said, adding a detailed direction has been issued to states stating consolidated efforts are required to utilise the lockdown period to curb the spread of the deadly virus.

Since then, there has been no update from the health ministry on the number of hotspots.

"The situation is improving in India as hotspot districts are moving towards being non-hotspot districts," the minister said and stressed that states with high viral load should focus on effective implementation of the lockdown and containment strategy.

Elaborating on the availability of ventilators, oxygen supply and ICUs at the Central and state levels, Vardhan said, "When we compare the number of patients who are currently hospitalised, we find that only 2.17 per cent patients have been admitted in ICU, 1.29 per cent required oxygen support and mere 0.36 per cent are on ventilators."
On the status of availability of medical equipment and facilities in the country, the minister said, "We have already made available sufficient quantities of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) at the state level and now we have around 106 manufacturing units in India itself. This will be enough to meet the requirement of our country in future."