COVID-19: Doubling rate drops to 6.2 days from 3 this week

The doubling rate of COVID-19 cases in India has dropped to 6.2 days in this week, as compared to three days before the lockdown was imposed, the government said on Friday (April 17).

In its regular media briefing in the evening, health ministry joint secretary Lav Agarwal said that according to data in the last seven days, the doubling rate has come down to 6.2 days, which is the result of increased testing of patients.

Patients suffering from severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) and influenza-like illness (ILI) have been tested more in the past week. The doubling rate is the number of days it takes for coronavirus cases to double across the country.

Since April 1, 2020, the average growth factor has been reported at 1.2. This rate stood at a rate of 2.1 between March 15-31, 2020. This shows a decline of 40 per cent in terms of the average growth factor, even when the COVID-19 testing was increased.

According to the health ministry, the recovery rate has also improved, which is 13.06 per cent of all infected people. In India, the ratio between coronavirus patients and deaths stands at 80:20. This ratio is higher than many other countries.

Even as higher testing mechanisms can lead to definitive results, but health experts from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) believe that the countries which have witnessed higher testing rate comprise significantly lower population sizes.

Related News: COVID-19: Delhi, Maharashtra, MP witness highest case spike this week

So far, India has reported 13,835 active COVID-19 cases and 1767 people discharged or cured. The state wise data suggests that Maharashtra, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh have the highest number of active COVID-19 cases this week. Globally, 21,97,886 people have been infected with coronavirus and the total number of deaths is at 1,47,595 so far.

While the rise is cases have seen a slump in the past one week as compared to the previous four days, reports suggest Maharashtra, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh have recorded the highest jump. The total number of cases in the country went up by 33 per cent this week, which is a much slower increase as compared to the earlier four days, when the rise was recorded at 60 per cent.

(With inputs from agencies)