At 2.23 pc COVID-19 fatality rate lowest since Apr 1, recoveries nearing 10 lakh: Health ministry

The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 is fast approaching the 10-lakh mark, while the case fatality rate has been falling progressively due to coordinated implementation of the 'test track treat' strategy by the Centre, states and Union Territories, the health ministry said on Wednesday.

The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 is fast approaching the 10-lakh mark, while the case fatality rate has been falling progressively due to coordinated implementation of the 'test track treat' strategy by the Centre, states and Union Territories, the health ministry said on Wednesday. India's COVID-19 case fatality rate (CFR) is lower than what it is globally. CFR has declined from 3.3 per cent on June 19 to 2.23 per cent on Wednesday, "the lowest since April 1", the health ministry said in a statement.

"Not only has the CFR been kept low, but successful implementation of effective containment strategy, aggressive testing and standardised clinical management protocols based on a holistic standard of care approach have in tandem resulted in a consistent trend of more than 30,000 recoveries per day for the sixth consecutive day," it said. With 35,286 patients discharged in 24 hours till Wednesday morning, the total number of recoveries has jumped to 9,88,029. The recovery rate among COVID-19 patients too has increased to 64.51 per cent.

The ministry said, "With such consistent increase in recoveries, the gap between the number of recovered patients and active COVID-19 cases currently stands at 4,78,582." The number of active cases stood at 5,09,447 and they are under medical supervision. Under the guidance of the Centre, the states and Union Territories are steadily ramping up testing to ensure prompt identification and isolation of COVID-19 cases, the health ministry said.

With 4,08,855 samples examined on Tuesday, tests per million (TPM) have increased to 12,858 and cumulative testing has crossed 1.77 crore, it said. Testing laboratory network in the country was being strengthened continuously with the country now having 1,316 such facilities of which 906 in the government sector and 410 in the private sector.

India's COVID-19 tally climbed to 15,31,669 with 48,513 fresh cases recorded in a day, while the country's death toll due to the disease rose to 34,193 with 768 fatalities being reported in the same period, the health ministry data updated at 8 am on Wednesday showed.