India has been consistently reporting around 1,000 deaths from coronavirus disease (Covid-19) a day since early September and the cumulative number of deaths in the country due to the viral infection surpassed the 75,000 mark on Wednesday.
According to data from the HT panel, 75,055 Covid-19 patients have died as of Thursday.
The case fatality rate (CFR), the fraction of deaths among those who tested positive for Covid-19, has remained at 1.7%, despite the increase in the number of deaths. daily due to contagion.
Also read: Covid-19 kills 24 policemen in Bengal; almost 8,000 test positive so far
The death toll is much lower than the global CFR of 3.2%. Countries like the United Kingdom (UK) have reported a CFR of 11.7%, followed by Mexico (10.6%).
“We don’t know why the death toll in India is low. However, various theories abound. It could be due to previous infections from other coronaviruses or it could be due to universal immunization using the BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin) vaccine. Or it could be because we have a higher proportion of young people. Scientists are still looking for these answers, ”said Dr. Neeraj Gupta, professor of pulmonology at Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi.
However, Dr. Gupta believes that the CFR is unlikely to increase.
“It is unlikely that the number of deaths will increase, and therefore the CFR. This is because doctors now understand the disease better and have also standardized a treatment protocol, ”he said.
It’s not just the number of deaths, but the number of cases and tests has also steadily increased. With more than 1,600 labs across the country approved by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) to perform the test, the country has been testing more than one million swab samples on a daily basis, except for weekends.
On Thursday, India reported more than 94,000 new cases of Covid-19.
According to data shared by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH & FW), 60% of the total Covid-19 cases reported so far have occurred in just five states: Maharashtra (21.6%) , Andhra Pradesh (11.8%), Tamil Nadu (10.8%), Karnataka (9.43%) and Uttar Pradesh (6.37%).
These five states also represent 61% of the total active Covid-19 cases.
.
