COVID Death Rate Down by 76%; India Reporting 0.7% Global Cases: Health Ministry

The Union Health Ministry said in a press briefing on Thursday, 3 March, that the COVID-19 situation in India was positive, and that the country had witnessed a sharp reduction in cases.

(Photo: Aroop Mishra/The Quint)

The Union Health Ministry said in a press briefing on Thursday, 3 March that the COVID-19 situation in India was positive, and that the country had witnessed a sharp reduction in cases, ANI reported.

"Now also across many countries, huge COVID-19 cases are being reported. In some countries an increase in the trajectory of cases continues. But a sharp reduction of COVID-19 cases is observed in India," said Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry.

He also added that on average, around 11,000 COVID-19 cases were reported in India on a weekly basis.

Around 15,00,000 COVID-19 cases were being reported across the world even today, Agarwal added.

India Reporting Only 0.7 Percent of Global Cases

Comparing the global tally of COVID-19 cases to the tally in India, Agarwal said that only 0.7 percent of global COVID-19 cases were being reported in India.

The Health Ministry also highlighted that there was a drastic reduction in the number of deaths compared to the peak witnessed in the country.

"There is a positive situation regarding the number of deaths in India compared to other countries. From 2-8 February, India reported 615 deaths on average. Last week, 144 deaths were reported due to COVID-19," Agarwal said, adding that the death rate in India had declined by 76.6 percent compared to the the country's peak.

Three States Account for 50% Active Cases

The Health Ministry also stated that three states – Kerala, Maharashtra, and Mizoram – accounted for 50 percent of the active cases in India, ANI reported.

"Only a single state has active cases over 10,000 and two states have active cases between 5,000-10,000. The remaining states have less than 5,000 active cases," Agarwal said.

6,561 new COVID-19 cases and 142 deaths were reported in India in the last 24 hours. The active caseload was at 77,152 – a mere 0.18 percent of the total reported COVID-19 infections in the country. The current recovery rate is at 98.62 percent.

(With inputs from ANI.)