COVID-19: India touches another milestone, conducts nearly 3.9 crore tests

In a major boost in the fight against COVID, the cumulative number of COVID-19 tests conducted in the country has reached nearly 3.9 crores. The number of COVID-19 recoveries has surpassed 25 lakh in the country while the case fatality rate has further declined to 1.83 per cent, the Union health ministry said on Thursday.

"The strategic approach of the country as regards COVID-19 response and management -- "test, track, treat" -- emphasises the key principle of high level of testing on a sustained basis, leading to an early diagnosis. A timely diagnosis furnishes opportunities to isolate or hospitalise the positive cases adequately in advance for appropriate treatment. This in turn facilitates lower mortality rates and speedy recovery," the ministry said.

Besides, 9,24,998 lakh COVID-19 tests were conducted across the country in a span of 24 hours, taking the total number of tests performed to 3,85,76,510.

"With more patients recovering and being discharged from hospitals and home isolation, India's total COVID-19 recoveries surpassed 2.5 million today," the ministry highlighted.

READ: Coronavirus LIVE Updates: India's tally crosses 33-lakh; tests for TB patients mandatory

Meanwhile, registering over 75,000 COVID-19 cases for the first time in a span of 24 hours, India's virus tally sprinted past 33 lakh on Thursday.  A record 75,760 infections were added in a day taking the total coronavirus caseload to 33,10,234. The death toll climbed to 60,472 with 1,023 fatalities being reported in 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed.

READ: Health Ministry mandates COVID screening for TB patients; issues guidelines

Health Ministry Mandates COVID Screening For TB Patients

Union Health Ministry on Thursday mandated COVID screening for all diagnosed Tuberculosis (TB) patients and TB screening for all COVID-19 positive patients. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) issued a guidance note on bi-directional TB-COVID screening and screening of TB among influenza like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) cases.

This decision comes as both TB and COVID-19 primarily attack the lungs, and the prevalence of TB among COVID-19 patients has been found to be 0.37 - 4.47 percent in different studies. A note further read that  there has been an overall decline in TB notification by 26 percent during January to June 2020 as compared to the previous year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

READ:COVID-19: With more than 8 lakh average tests every day, India scales up testing capacity

READ: India records highest single-day spike of 75,760 COVID-19 cases