India took 13 days to reach one million recoveries, the Union health ministry said on Tuesday, as the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) continues to see a downward trend in the country. On Tuesday, India registered a sharp fall in its daily cases as the country logged a total of 36,470 new infections in the last 24 hours, taking the overall caseload closer to the eight million mark to 7,946,429.
“It took us 57 days to register a recovery of 10 lakhs from 1 lakh. However, the latest 10 lakh recoveries have been achieved in 13 days which is a satisfactory sign,” Rajesh Bhushan, health secretary, said during a media briefing on the Covid-19 situation in India.
Bhushan informed that Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka are five states that reported 58% of new Covid-19 deaths in the last 24 hours. He said that 78% of active cases are present in 10 states and Union territories. These include Maharashtra, which is accounting for 21.52% of total cases, followed by Kerala, Karnataka, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh with 15%, 12.05%, 5.94%, 4.68%, 4.6% respectively. “During the festival season, cases have increased in Kerala, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Delhi,” Bhushan also said.
In a positive sign, the recovery rate has reached 90.62% in the country and it is constantly increasing further, he said. The health ministry official further noted that the decline in daily Covid-19 cases in the country is “particularly noteworthy” even as the countries of the northern hemisphere are witnessing a severe increase in the intensity of pandemic.
{{/usCountry}}In a positive sign, the recovery rate has reached 90.62% in the country and it is constantly increasing further, he said. The health ministry official further noted that the decline in daily Covid-19 cases in the country is “particularly noteworthy” even as the countries of the northern hemisphere are witnessing a severe increase in the intensity of pandemic.
{{/usCountry}}“We are very fortunate that our trend is in the opposite direction. We are fortunate that today we are showing a decline of the pandemic, except in two or three states. This decline is particularly noteworthy because in other countries of the northern hemisphere there is a severe increase in the intensity of pandemic,” said VK Paul, chairperson of the national task force for Covid-19, who was also part of the briefing.
Speaking on Covid-19 vaccine development in India, Balram Bhargava of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said three candidates are in different stages of the clinical testing. “Covaxin has got approval for Phase 3 trials, Cadila also progressing with Phase 2 trials and Serum is completing Phase 2 trial and has an ongoing trial in Brazil, South Africa and the US,” the ICMR director general said.