With 88,600 new cases, India's COVID tally inches closer to 60-lakh mark

With 88,600 new cases, India's COVID tally inches closer to 60-lakh mark
A healthcare worker checks the temperature of a resident during a medical campaign for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a slum area in Mumbai, India, July 1, 2020. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/Files

With 88,600 new positive cases on Sunday, India's COVID tally inches closer to the worrying milestone of 60-lakh cases. Of the total cases (59,92,533), active cases number as many as 9,56,402 while 49,41,628 have been cured of the virus.

With 1,124 deaths in the past 24 hours, COVID death toll in the country now stands at 94,503.

A total of 8,87,861 samples were tested on Saturday. So far, 7,12,57,836 samples have been tested in the country.

Need to radically reform health sector, says Vice President Naidu

With 88,600 new cases, India's COVID tally inches closer to 60-lakh mark

New Delhi: The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic must be seen as an opportunity to radically reform the health sector by effectively harnessing the power of technology and artificial intelligence-powered tools, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said on Saturday.

Addressing an event of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) online, he called for the digitisation of health records and creation of a national platform to facilitate collection of comprehensive healthcare data across the country.

This, Naidu said, will ensure that all stakeholders in the health sector are digitally connected.

He felt that the analysis of data collected can produce valuable information, which can be used to improve the effectiveness of the health system.

"Disruption caused by the pandemic must be seen as an opportunity to radically reform our health sector," Naidu said.

The vice president opined that as the world's second-most-populous country with a track record of rapid economic growth, India faces both unique challenges and unprecedented opportunities in the sphere of public health.

With 88,600 new cases, India's COVID tally inches closer to 60-lakh mark

Asserting the need to deliver quality healthcare to all irrespective of where one is living, Naidu said that healthcare and medical facilities should be accessible and affordable for all.

He cautioned that these challenges are not simple enough to be tackled by the government alone and called for concerted and coordinated efforts from both the private and public sectors.

Naidu asked private sector players to strengthen the hands of the government in its quest to deliver quality healthcare to the last citizen.

Observing that countries with strong primary healthcare systems have better health outcomes, the vice president emphasised the need to strengthen India's primary healthcare system.

"The private sector must collaborate with various state governments in establishing state-of-the-art primary healthcare facilities in each district, he said.

(With inputs from PTI)

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