Covid-19: 80% deaths being reported from 10 states, says health ministry data

The country’s case fatality rate, which is the number of patients who died of the disease among those whose test returned positive, is dropping each day, and stands at about 1.5%, which is much lower than the global CFR of about 2.7%

Eighty per cent of the new deaths due to coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the country are being reported from 10 states, shows Union health ministry data.

Health workers and relatives pay their last respect to a person who died of Covid-19, at a crematorium in Karad, Maharashtra, earlier this month. (File photo)

With 137 deaths reported on Saturday, Maharashtra recorded most new Covid-19 deaths. The total number of Covid-19 patients having succumbed to the viral infection so far in the state is 43,152.

The second most affected state in terms of fatalities is Tamil Nadu, with 10,893 deaths, of which 35 were reported on Saturday. It is closely followed by Karnataka at 10,892 deaths which also reported 71 new deaths on Saturday.

The other states with high Covid-19 deaths are: West Bengal (1,793), Chhattisgarh (1,793), Uttar Pradesh (6,854), Kerala (1,306), Delhi (6,225), Punjab (4,107), and Andhra Pradesh (6,566).

However, the country’s case fatality rate (CFR), which is the number of patients who died of the disease among those whose test returned positive, is dropping each day, and currently stands at about 1.5%, which is much lower than the global CFR of about 2.7%.

“We are losing fewer patients and a major contributing factor is that we now know the disease far better than what we knew of it earlier, especially which medicines and therapies work better on Covid-19 patients. The entire treatment protocol has been revised and standardised that has worked really well,” said Dr Srikant Sharma, consultant, department of medicine, Moolchand Hospital.

Those above 60 years of age and people with comorbid conditions are at a greater risk of developing severe illness.

The government’s mortality analysis data shows that about one in two (53%) of those who succumbed to the viral infection were above 60 years of age. Also, as high as 88% of the Covid-19 deaths have been in people who were above 45 years of age.

More men die of the viral disease than women. Among the victims, nearly 70% were men and 30% were women, shows India’s latest Covid-19 mortality analysis data that the government releases from time to time.

Chronic medical conditions that have been commonly observed in Covid-19 patients include hypertension, diabetes, liver disease, heart disease, asthma, chronic renal disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, low immunity, malignancy, bronchitis and chronic neuromuscular disease.

Hypertension and diabetes are the two most common comorbidities that lead to the disease progressing to severe levels among Covid-19 patients.

With 645 deaths reported on Saturday, the number of Covid-19 deaths in the country stood at 118,591. The total infection count stood at 78,63,871.