Coronavirus outbreak: India recorded around 1,000 fatalities each day in September

New Delhi, Sep 10: Union Health Ministry on Thursday said that India has been consistently reporting around 1,000 coronavirus deaths a day since the beginning of September and the cumulative death toll in the country due to the viral infection breached the 75,000 mark on Wednesday.

According to reports, 75,055 COVID-19 patients have died until Thursday.

The case fatality ratio (CFR), the fraction of deaths among those who have tested COVID-19 positive, has stayed at 1.7 per cent, despite the increase in the number of daily deaths because of the contagion.

The casualty figure is much lower than the global CFR of 3.2 per cent. Countries such as the United Kingdom (UK) have reported a CFR of 11.7 per cent, followed by Mexico 10.6per cent.

Speaking to reporter, Dr Neeraj Gupta, a professor of pulmonology at Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi said, "We do not know why the number of deaths in India is low. However, various theories abound. It could be because of previous infections of other coronaviruses or it could be due to universal immunisation that uses the BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin) vaccine. Or, it could be because we have a higher proportion of younger people. The scientists are still looking for these answers."

"The number of deaths - and hence the CFR - is unlikely to go up. This is because the doctors now understand the disease better and have also standardised a treatment protocol," he said.

It is not just the number of deaths, but the number of cases and tests has also been increasing consistently. With over 1,600 laboratories across the country approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to conduct the test, the country has been daily testing over one million swab samples consistently, except for weekends.

According to the health ministry, 60 per cent of the total COVID-19 cases reported so far have been in only five states - Maharashtra (21.6 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (11.8 per cent), Tamil Nadu (10.8 per cent), Karnataka (9.43 per cent), and Uttar Pradesh (6.37 per cent).