Coronavirus outbreak: 4,291 cases related to Tablighi Jamaat, says Lav Agarwal

Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said in the daily media briefing, 'It's a continued battle and we all need to support this battle against COVID-19.'

He said 84 per cent cases in Tamil Nadu, 63 per cent cases in Delhi, 79 per cent cases in Telangana, 59 per cent cases in Uttar Pradesh and 61 per cent cases in Andhra Pradesh are related to the event.

The Joint Secretary said that as many as 1,992 people across the country have been cured so far, adding that the overall cure percentage is around 13.85 per cent.

In the past 24 hours, a total of 991 fresh cases of Coronavirus were reported, while 43 new deaths have been reported, taking the total death toll to 480.

He further said that 45 districts in 23 states and Union Territories, where no new case has been reported in the last 28 days.

These include Lakhisarai, Gopalganj and Bhagalpur in Bihar; Dholpur and Udaipur in Rajasthan and Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir, among others, Agarwal added.

He said Patna, Nadia and Panipat have been declared Green Zones and no new case were reported from these districts, he added.

Speaking about mortality rate, he said, 'Mortality rate in the country is around 3.3 per cent. An age-wise analysis will tell you that 14.4 per cent death has been reported in age group of 0-45 years, 10.3 per cent between 45-60 years it, between 60-75 years it is 33.1 per cent and for 75 years and above, it is 42.2 per cent.

The Ministry official also reiterated the difference between the RT PCR test and the rapid antibody test. Explaining further, he said the PCR test is used as the benchmark for COVID-19 tests globally.

The Tablighi Jamaat congregation was held earlier last month at Markaz Nizamuddin in New Delhi, which has turned into a COVID-19 hotspot.