So far 15.34 pc COVID-19 patients required ICU care, 4.16 pc ventilators

Of the over 4.4 lakh COVID-19 cases reported in the country till Tuesday, only 15.34 per cent required ICU care, 15.89 per cent needed oxygen support and 4.16 per cent were put on ventilators, according to health ministry sources.

Of the over 4.4 lakh COVID-19 cases reported in the country till Tuesday, only 15.34 per cent required ICU care, 15.89 per cent needed oxygen support and 4.16 per cent were put on ventilators, according to health ministry sources. Also, the doubling time of coronavirus infection cases has improved from 17.4 days on June 12 to 19.7 days in the last three days, a source said.

Till June 23 since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak in India, 27,317 patients needed ICU care, 28,301 required oxygen and 7,423 were put on ventilators, a source in the ministry said. The cumulative caseload of COVID-19 infections in the country was 4,40,215 on Tuesday morning. In the next 24 hours, the total tally reached 4,56,183 with yet another record jump of 15,968 fresh cases. The death toll was 14,476. India has registered 2,65,648 instances of the viral infections between June 1 and June 24 with Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh being the top five contributors to the rising tally.

However, there has been a significant rise in the number of recoveries in recent days. The number of active cases as on Wednesday morning stood at 1,83,022 while 2,58,684 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, according to health ministry data. Of the total active cases as on Tuesday 6 pm, 2.57 per cent were on ICU as against 2.53 per cent the day before, 0.54 per cent were on ventilator while 2.99 per cent on oxygen as against 2.82 per cent as on Monday, a source said. Over 73.5 lakh samples have been tested for COVID-19 till June 23, of which 2.15 lakh were examined on Tuesday, the highest in a day since the beginning of the pandemic, ICMR officials said on Wednesday.

The apex health research body has validated the 1,000th testing laboratory, ramping up the capacity for detection of COVID-19 in the country. Currently, three lakh samples can be tested per day, an official said..