Nine states and union territories have not reported any new COVID-19 patients in the last 24 hours and the rate of doubling of cases has increased to 12.6 days, Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said on Wednesday, even as the death toll due to the novel coronavirus rose to 2,415 and cases climbed to 74,281.
Vardhan, who also reviewed the preparedness of Punjab for managing COVID-19, said Daman and Diu, Sikkim, Nagaland and Lakshadweep have not reported any cases so far. While the doubling time of cases in the past 14 days was 11, it has improved to 12.6 in the last three days, he said. “Today, there are nine states and union territories that have not reported any cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours i.e. A&N (Andaman and Nicobar) Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Ladakh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram,” Vardhan said, according to a statement.
As the death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 2,415 and the number of cases climbed to 74,281, registering an increase of 122 deaths and 3,525 cases in the last 24 hours till Wednesday 8 am, he said the fatality rate is 3.2 percent and the recovery rate is pegged at 32.8 percent. Elaborating on health infrastructure preparedness in the country, Vardhan said 900 dedicated COVID-19 hospitals with a capacity of 1,79,882 beds (1,60,610 isolation and 19,272 Intensive Care Unit beds, 2,040 dedicated COVID-19 health centers with 1,29,689 beds (1,19,340 isolation and 10,349 ICU beds) and 5,577 COVID-19 care centers with 4,93,101 beds are available as of now.
Also, 8,708 quarantine centers are available till now, the statement said. The Centre has also provided 78.42 lakh N95 masks and 42.18 lakh Personal Protective Equipment to states, union territories, and central institutions, Vardhan said. The health minister added that as of Tuesday, 2.75 percent active COVID-19 patients were in ICU, 0.37 percent on ventilators, and 1.89 percent on oxygen support. — PTI
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