by Pankaj Yadav
NEW DELHI, Aug 24 (NNN-XINHUA) – India’s COVID-19 tally surpassed three million yesterday, reaching 3,044,940, according to the latest data released by the health ministry.
The death toll due to the pandemic also surged to 56,706. As many as 69,239 new cases and 912 deaths were reported during the past 24 hours.
According to the data, there are still 707,668 active cases across India, even as 2,280,566 people have been successfully cured and discharged.
Over the past few weeks, the Indian government’s focus has been on ramping up the testing of COVID-19 samples.
Till Friday, a total of 34,491,073 samples had been tested, out of which 1,023,836 were tested on Friday alone, according to the latest data released by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
This is the first time when more than one million samples were tested in a single day.
An official statement said, “Keeping a sharp focus on the Test, Track and Treat policy, the tests per million have seen a boost touching 25,574. It is only by aggressive testing that positive cases can be identified, their contacts tracked in a timely manner and promptly isolated, as well as, the severe and critical patients provided the needed clinical treatment.”
The testing strategy also ensured a steady expansion of the national lab network. With 983 labs in the government sector and 532 private labs, 1,515 labs are providing comprehensive testing facilities to the people.
The increasing recoveries have ensured that the actual caseload of the country (active cases) has reduced, and currently comprises only 23.24 percent of the total positive cases.
Higher number of recoveries and declining mortality rate have shown that India’s graded and proactive strategies are delivering results on the field, said a health ministry statement.
Schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutions continue to remain shut across the country.– NNN-XINHUA
