5,734 confirmed coronavirus cases in India; 17 dead in last 24 hours: Health ministry
Coronavirus in India
India's health ministry said today that 5,734 confirmed coronavirus cases were reported in the country with 549 new cases in the last 24 hours.
The death toll due to COVID-19 in India stands at 166 with 473 people having recovered and discharged from the hospital so far, the health ministry said.
17 people died of the virus in the last 24 hours.
"Supplies of PPEs, masks, and ventilators have now begun. Twenty domestic manufacturers in India have been working for PPEs," the health ministry official Lav Aggarwal said, adding," orders for 1.7 crore PPEs have been placed and the supplies have begun. "
According to the health ministry, Railways have deployed more than 2,500 doctors and 35,000 paramedics staff.
"The chain of 586 health units, 45 sub-divisional hospitals, 56 divisional hospitals, eight production unit hospitals and 16 zonal hospitals are dedicating their significant facilities to fight the virus," the health ministry declared.
During the press conference, the Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR) said that 1,30,000 samples have been tested so far with 5,734 samples testing positive.
"Positivity rate ranges between 3-5 per cent in the last 1-1.5 months. It has not increased substantially. On Wednesday, we tested 13,143 samples," the ICMR official said.