DNA : Apr 19, 2020, 08:50 PM
New Delhi: The Health Ministry on Thursday informed that 54 districts in 23 States/Union Territories didn't report any coronavirus cases in last 14 days."54 other districts in 23 States/Union Territories didn't report any cases in the last 14 days. 2,231 patients have been cured so far in the country," Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry stated.Aggarwal also informed that there is not a big percentage of asymptomatic persons testing COVID-19 positive, adding that 'High-risk asymptomatic persons are part of sampling criteria' who need to be tested and monitored. It must be noted that there were 186 new COVID-19 positive cases that were reported from the national capital yesterday were 'asymptomatic', that is, devoid of any usual symptoms associated with the coronavirus disease, which is spreading like wildfire across the globe. Asymptomatic cases are, by definition, more difficult to be detected by the healthcare professionals and as such, present an even potent risk of spreading the virus within the community. Historical data across the world show that there is not a big percentage of asymptomatic persons testing #COVID19 positive. It's important for us to be aware of this challenge. High-risk asymptomatic persons are part of the sampling criteria. We test & monitor themMeanwhile, Aggarwal noted that there are 755 hospitals and 1389 health care centers in the country where around 2144 severe or critical patients can be treated.The ministry further informed that cinema halls, shopping malls, and religious places will remain closed till May 3, adding that there will be no relaxations from April 20 for containment zones in hotspots. Meanwhile, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) informed that 37,173 tests were done in the national capital, out of which 29,287 tests were done in labs of ICMR network. 7,886 tested in private sector labs.It also informed that a high-level task force to work on the frontiers of science related to vaccines and drug testing was formed on Sunday. According to the health ministry, there were 1334 new COVID19 cases & 27 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, taking total cases to 15712.