New Delhi, May 8: The constant improvement in India's COVID-19 recovery rate continues as 29.36 percent of total cases have been discharged so far, announced the Health Ministry during the press briefing on Friday. One out of every three infected patient is recovering at a reasonable pace, said a top official, adding that the cure percentage is expected to further improve in the forthcoming days. Coronavirus Peak Likely in India by June-July, Says AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria.

"In the last 24 hours, there were 3390 new COVID19 positive cases and 1273 recoveries. The recovery percentage is now 29.36 percent. Till now, 16,540 patients have been cured and 37,916 patients are under active medical supervision," said Lav Agrawal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry.

While the COVID-19 recovery rate has significantly improved - from 13.52 percent in mid-April to over 29 percent in first week of May - the surging number of new infections continue to remain a matter of concern. The overall COVID-19 tally has jumped to 56,342, including 1,886 persons who have succumbed to infection.

Update by ANI

Even as the COVID-19 curve continues the upward trend, the health authorities found a sigh of relief in the dearth of new cases in one-third of India's total districts. "In 216 districts in the country no positive cases of COVID19 have been detected. In 42 districts no new cases have been detected in the last 28 days," Agrawal said.

A day earlier, the country's top medical practitioner predicted the peak of coronavirus crisis in India to arrive in the next couple of months. "According to modeling data and the way our cases are increasing, it is likely that peak can come in June and July. But there are many variables and with time only we will know how much they are effective and the effect of extending the lockdown," said Dr Randeep Guleria, Director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 08, 2020 04:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).