As Covid cases climb to 7.42L, govt ropes in experts to check fatality rate
NEW DELHI: As the COVID19 caseload increased to 7,42,417 with 22,752 fresh cases in a day on Wednesday and 20,642 deaths being reported with 482 people succumbing to the disease, the Union Health ministry has roped in specialist doctors from the AIIMS to provide expert guidance and knowledge support on COVID-19 to their peers manning ICUS in at least 17 state hospitals as an effort to reduce the fatality rate.
In a much-needed relief to contain the spread of the virus, the recovery rate has improved to 61.53 per cent as the number of recoveries stands at 4,56,831, while there are 2,64,944 active cases of Coronavirus infection in the country.
Meanwhile, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has tested total 1,04,73,771 samples, including 2,62,679 being tested in the last 24 hours. The testing facilities have been ramped up to 1,119, which includes 795 labs in the ICMR network and 324 in the private sector.
Delhi AIIMS experts will guide the doctors of the state hospitals on effective clinical management of Covid-infected patients in the ICUS through tele/video consultation.
“They will handhold the states in clinical management of COVID-19 patients to reduce the case fatality rate. These tele-consultation sessions for providing timely and expert guidance to the doctors in the states will be conducted twice every week on Tuesdays and Fridays,” the Health ministry said in its official statement. Ten hospitals with more than 1,000 beds, including nine from Mumbai (Maharashtra) and one from Goa participated in the first session that started on Wednesday.
The tele-consultation exercise will be held in 17 states including Delhi, Gujarat, Telangana, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Jharkhand and Maharashtra. However, this exercise would be further extended to another 61 hospitals which have bed capacity ranging from 500-1000 on a twice-aweek basis, which will be covered till July 31.