The Union Health Ministry on Friday said the number of COVID-19 cases averted due to the nationwide lockdown is in the range of 14-29 lakh whereas the number of lives saved is between 37,000 to 78,000.
According to Public Health Foundation of India, nearly 78,000 lives have been saved due to lockdown while a model by two independent economists shows that around 23 lakh COVID-19 cases and 68,000 deaths have been averted due to lockdown, a ministry official said.
"Ministry of Statistics and Indian Statistical Institute study found around 20 lakh COVID cases and 54,000 deaths were averted due to lockdown," he added. Citing another research he said Boston Consulting Group's model shows the lockdown saved between 1.2-2.1 lakh lives and averted is between 36-70 lakh cases.
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The Health Ministry said the growth rate of COVID-19 cases has witnessed a steady fall from April 3, when the lockdown was able to put brakes on its growth. "The number of cases today would have been much higher had lockdown not been implemented", said the official.
The ministry further said the Covid-19 fatality rate has dropped from 3.13 per cent to 3.02 per cent, and the authorities involved in tackling the viral infection are concentrating on containment measures and clinical management of cases.
"We need to save the country from deaths due to Covid-19", said a ministry official.
In the daily press briefing, Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary Health Ministry, said there is an improvement in the COVID-19 mortality rate, as it dropped from 3.13 per cent on May 19 to 3.02 per cent. The ministry said that 3,234 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours, and 48,534 people have been cured so far, and there are a total 66,330 under active medical supervision.
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"The recovery rate has improved to 41% and the case fatality rate has improved to 3.02%", said Agarwal, adding the focus of the Health Ministry is on districts which have reported most cases.
According to an Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) official, 27,55,714 tests for COVID-19 were conducted till 1 p.m. Friday, and 1,03,829 tests were done in the last 24 hours. "Over 1 Lakh tests for COVID-19 done each day in the last four days", added the ICMR official.
The ministry further said that COVID-19 outbreak in the country has remained confined to limited areas with 80 per cent of active cases being in only five states. They added that around 80 per cent of COVID-19 deaths have taken place in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Delhi.
(With agency inputs)
