India's COVID-19 fatality rate among lowest in the world: Health Ministry

NEW DELHI: India has about 0.3 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 of population which is amongst the lowest in the world, against the statistics of 4.4 deaths per 100,000 population for the world, said a statement issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Tuesday.

It further said that the relatively low death figures, both in terms of mortality per 100,000 population and case fatality rate, represented timely case identification and clinical management of the cases in India.

According to Tuesday morning's official data, total COVID-19 cases and the total number of deaths stood at 145,380 and 4,167, respectively.

The federal government along with the states governments are taking several steps for prevention, containment and management of COVID-19 through a graded, pre-emptive and pro-active approach. These are being regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level, said the statement.

The focus continues to be on prevention and containment measures so as to limit the spread of infection. Following of required hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene and effective sanitation of frequently touched surfaces are critical to avoiding getting the infection.

It also cautioned that there is a need to ensure appropriate behavior to tide over this crisis, including regular use of the masks/face-covers and working towards protecting the elderly and vulnerable.

Maintenance of physical distancing in public is the social vaccine the world currently has against the COVID-19.

India has rapidly grown its testing capacity and is on track to meet the emerging requirements. It is now testing an approximate 110,000 samples per day. Capacity has been increased by augmenting number of labs, shifts, RT-PCR machines and manpower.

As of Tuesday, India has 612 total labs, 430 run by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and 182 in the private sector to test the population for COVID-19 infection.

COVID-19 recovery rate in the country continues to improve and presently it is 41.61 percent. A total of 60,491 patients have so far recovered from COVID-19. The case fatality rate in the country is also showing a downward trend from 3.30 percent (as on April 15) to around 2.87 percent at present which is amongst the lowest in the world.

The global average for case fatality is presently around 6.45 percent.