Without lockdown, India's Covid-19 cases would have been 8 lakh by 15 Apr: Govt
1 min read 11 Apr 2020, 06:58 PM ISTOne lakh isolation beds and 11,500 ICU beds reserved for Covid-19 patients across country, says Health MinistryFive lakh antibody testing kits ordered by ICMR have not been received yet, says Health Ministry
PremiumNew Delhi: Stressing the role of lockdown and other containment steps in limiting coronavirus infection, the Union Health Ministry said, here on Saturday, without them Covid-19 cases could have spiralled to 8.2 lakh by April 15.
Without these steps, Covid-19 cases could have registered a 41 per cent cumulative increase to in 8.2 lakh cases by April 15. With containment measures and no lockdown, it could have gone up to 1.2 lakh till April 15, said Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry, citing a statistical model to capture the projected cases.
With 1,035 new cases and 40 deaths in the past 24 hours, the number of confirmed cases in India had reached 7,447, and fatalities 239. 642 people had been cured, Agarwal said. Five lakh antibody testing kits ordered by ICMR have not been received yet, said Health Ministry.
According to the Health Ministry, 100,000 isolation beds and 11,500 ICU beds have been reserved for Covid-19 patients across the country. Also, 587 dedicated Covid-19 hospitals have been earmarked at the central and the state levels.
India deployed a graded response to fight coronavirus outbreak, it added.
"PPEs, ventilators and other critical medical supplies are being ensured by the centre to states. The containment action plan, contact tracing and other planning are being ensured," Agarwal added.
The Indian Council Of Medical Research (ICMR) said 1,71,718 samples had been tested. On Friday, 16,564 tests were conducted through a network of government and private labs.
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This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
