The government yesterday cited a World Health Organisation (WHO) report to claim India had one of the lowest coronavirus deaths and cases per million population.
The recovery rate had increased to 61.13%, the federal Health Ministry said.
India recorded 22,252 new cases and 467 deaths in the last 24 hours, pushing the tally to 720,665 and toll to 20,160.
“The WHO situation report, dated July 6, shows India has one of the lowest cases of Covid-19 per million population. India’s cases per million is 505.37, while the global average is 1,453.25,” the ministry said.
The government said hospital infrastructure had been ramped up to manage the cases and the preparedness included arrangement of oxygen support, ICU and ventilator facilities.
As on yesterday, there are 1,201 Dedicated Covid Hospitals, 2,611 Dedicated Covid Healthcare Centres and 9,909 Covid Care Centres to take care of patients with very severe to mild symptoms.
“Such level of preparedness has shown results in continuously improving recovery rate and low fatality rate,” the government claimed.
During the last 24 hours, 15,515 Covid-19 patients have been discharged, taking the cumulative figure of recovered cases to 439,947.
One of them was a 96-year-old woman in Karnataka’s Chitradurga district who recovered in nine days and left hospital, a health official said.
“The woman was admitted to a state-run hospital on June 27 after she tested positive. Her recovery is remarkable and she was discharged,” Chitradurga health official M Hanumantappa said.
“The woman seems to have contracted the disease from a 65-year-old man in her town,” said Hanumanthappa.
However, former federal minister and senior Congress leader Bharatsinh Solanki, who was undergoing treatment for coronavirus infection, was put on ventilator support yesterday after his health deteriorated, sources said.
He is in a private hospital in Ahmedabad.
According to sources, Solanki, 67, was given plasma therapy twice on Monday, but his health deteriorated.
Solanki was the second Congress nominee for one of the four seats for Rajya Sabha from Gujarat for which elections were held on June 19.
He was found coronavirus positive two days after the elections.
Sources said Solanki also suffers from other ailments including asthma.
The West Bengal government meanwhile decided to impose complete lockdown in all the designated Covid-19 containment zones across the state from tomorrow.
No business activities will be allowed in the containment zones, so that the spike in fresh Covid-19 cases can be checked, officials said.
All government and non-government offices would remain closed.
There will be strict restrictions on public movements in all the market areas that fall under the containment zones and isolation units.
Only emergency services will be exempt from the restrictions.
Wearing of masks has been made mandatory.
“Wear a mask whenever in public. Mask is a must,” Kolkata Police Commissioner Anuj Sharma tweeted.
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