COVID-19

India crosses 10-lakh mark in number of COVID-19 cases

NEW DELHI, INDIA - MARCH 26: Indian shopkeepers and customers are seen in a crowded Mandi (market place), as nationwide lockdown continues over the highly contagious novel coronavirus on March 26, 2020 in New Delhi, India. India is under a 21-day lockdown to fight the spread of COVID-19 infections and while the security personnel on the roads are enforcing the restrictions, the workers of country's unorganized sector are bearing the brunt of the curfew-like situation. According to the international labour organisations India's 90% workforce is employed in the informal sector and most do not have access to pensions, sick leave, paid leave or any kind of insurance. Reports on Thursday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is preparing a massive bailout to reach to the underprivileged sections of the country and will hand over the dole through direct cash transfers. (Photo by Yawar Nazir/Getty Images)

India on Friday crossed the 10 lakh mark in COVID-19 tally with the highest single day spike of 34,956 cases in the last 24 hours. The total number of positive cases in the country stands at 10,03,832 including 3,42,473 active cases and 6,35,757 cured/discharged/migrated, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in its morning update. With 687 deaths, the toll has risen to 25,602 deaths.

Separately, the Ministry of Health and Family Affairs said, a graded, pre-emptive and pro-active approach under the ‘Whole of Government” strategy has been adopted by Government of India along with the States/UTs for prevention, containment and management of COVID-19. The collective efforts are regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level.

The targeted measures have contributed to a steady decline in the number of active cases. As on date, the actual caseload of COVID-19 patients in the country is only 3,31,146. These contribute to a little more than a third (34.18%) of total cases detected so far. Actual case load of COVID-19 has remained limited and manageable in the country due to proactive measures of containment including house-to-house survey, perimeter control activities, timely contact tracing and surveillance of containment zones, aggressive testing and timely diagnosis, and effective clinical management of the moderate and severe cases through a well implemented standard of care protocol substantially increasing their chances of recovery.

The joint efforts by the Center and the State/UT governments of increasing the testing capacity, ramping up the health infrastructure, prioritizing surveillance in the SARI/ILI cases, and ensuring mapping of the aged population and people with co-morbidities have led to a continuous improvement in the recovery rates seen across India.

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