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Covid-19 deaths can’t be decided only on the basis of absolute numbers: Health ministry
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) said that the government was taking aggressive measures wherever required in Maharashtra from where 1,078 Covid-19 cases were reported until Wednesday morning.
The high number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) deaths --- 64 until Wednesday morning --- reported from Maharashtra could be a chance event, as the number of overall fatalities is still low and a trend cannot be decoded on the basis of absolute numbers, said Dr Raman R. Gangakhedkar, chief of epidemiology and communicable diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in a media briefing on Wednesday.
“You can’t merely decide on the basis of absolute numbers, that is not the right way,” said Dr Gangakhedkar.
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) said that the government was taking aggressive measures wherever required in Maharashtra from where 1,078 Covid-19 cases were reported until Wednesday morning.
“In Pune, door-to-door screenings are being conducted. About 35 square kilometres are being covered to look for people with co-morbid conditions and those with any travel history. The government has come up with an elaborate technical plan for different stages of Covid-19 management,” said Lav Agarwal, joint secretary, MoHFW.
“If the number of cases is rising, the government’s preparations are also increasing proportionally to break the chain of Covid-19 transmission. Our technical war room is monitoring the situation very closely, and is equipped to track even ambulances on a real-time basis, apart from keeping a close watch of people under home quarantine, etc.,” he added.
A total of 139 ICMR laboratories are conducting Covid-19 tests, and another 65 private ones have been approved by the research organisation.
Since January 24, 121,271 samples have been tested across India. And 2,267 samples have been tested in private laboratories, which were given approval on March 21.
Agarwal refused reports about the shortage of the anti-malaria drug, hydroxychloroquine, in the country.
“There is no shortage of the drug in the country. It’ll be made available to whoever needs it. Those being given the medicine currently by the government are just a section of people. It’s not recommended for everyone, and should not be taken without a prescription,” said Agarwal.
To train the workforce on the field, the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development has developed modules to train doctors, nurses, paramedics, technicians, volunteers, etc who will have to be deployed on the ground for surveillance and management purposes.
“All these people will be provided with necessary resources on the field. This is a part of government’s larger preparedness plan,” he added.
