Four months of lockdown have prevented approximately 14-29 lakhs of cases and 37-78,000 deaths due to Covid-19, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said of Covid-19 management on the first day of the session monsoon of Parliament on Monday.
“These four months were used to create additional health infrastructure, improve human resources and produce critical items in India such as PPE, N-95 masks and ventilators. An example of this is the increase in dedicated isolation beds 36.3 times and dedicated ICU beds over 24.6 times compared to what existed in March 2020. Although there was no indigenous manufacture of PPE, with standards required, at that time, we are now self-sufficient and even in a position to export the same ”, he said.
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The minister also said that India has been able to limit its cases and deaths per million to 3,328 and 55 respectively, which is one of the lowest in the world compared to similarly affected countries.
Peak cases and deaths have been reported primarily in Maharashtra, Andhr Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, West Bengal, Bihar, Telangana, Odisha, Assam, Kerala, and Gujarat. All of these states have reported at least 100,000 cases.
“Many of the epidemiological parameters, such as mode of transmission, subclinical infection, period of virus shedding, role of immunity, etc., are still being investigated. Once a person is exposed to the infection, the disease can develop anytime between 1 and 14 days, ”he said in Lok Sabha.
The government has taken several proactive measures to contain the spread of the disease, including the creation of a group of ministers (GoM) on February 3, under the chairmanship of the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Harsh Vardhan.
The Government of Mexico is made up of a Minister of Foreign Affairs, a Minister of Civil Aviation, a Minister of State for Internal Affairs and a Minister of State for Transport, among other high government officials, and has met 20 times since its creation. .
On March 29, 11 empowered groups were created to handle the Covid-19 epidemic in the country. On September 10, the groups have restructured based on need and the evolving scenario.
The idea is to make an informed decision on issues ranging from medical emergency planning, hospital availability, isolation and quarantine facilities, disease surveillance and testing, ensuring the availability of essential medical equipment, increasing human resources and development of capacities, supply chain and logistics management for coordination with the private sector among other things.
For the proper management of Covid-19 cases, a three-tier arrangement of health facilities: Covid Care Center with isolation beds for mild or presymptomatic cases; An exclusive Covid Health Center with oxygen isolation beds for moderate cases and an exclusive Covid Hospital with ICU beds (for severe cases) have been implemented.
As of September 12, 2020, a total of 15,284 covid treatment facilities have been created with 1,314,646 dedicated isolation beds without oxygen support. In addition, a total of 231,093 oxygen-supported isolation beds and 62,717 ICU beds (including 32,575 ventilation beds) have been created.
“Constant monitoring of the disease trend, analysis of available infrastructure, and advance planning for the future have prevented a major crisis like the one faced by many developed countries. In addition, a total of 12,826 quarantine centers with 598,811 beds have been created, ”Harsh Vardhan said in the House.
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