New Delhi, May 22 (IANS): The Union Health Ministry on Friday said the Covid-19 fatality rate has dropped from 3.13 per cent to 3.02 per cent, and the authorities involved in tackling the viral infection are concentrating on containment measures and clinical management of cases.

"We need to save the country from deaths due to Covid-19", said a ministry official.

In the daily press briefing, Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary Health Ministry, said there is improvement in the COVID-19 mortality rate, as it dropped from 3.13 per cent on May 19 to 3.02 per cent. The ministry said that 3,234 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours, and 48,534 people have been cured so far, and there are a total 66,330 under active medical supervision.

"The recovery rate has improved to 41% and the case fatality rate has improved to 3.02%", said Agarwal, adding the focus of the Health Ministry is on districts which have reported most cases.

The Health Ministry said the growth rate of COVID-19 cases has witnessed a steady fall from April 3, when lockdown was able to put brakes on its growth. "The number of cases today would have been much higher had lockdown not been implemented", added the official.

According to an Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) official, 27,55,714 tests for COVID-19 were conducted till 1 p.m. Friday, and 1,03,829 tests were done in the last 24 hours. "Over 1 Lakh tests for COVID-19 done each day in the last four days", added the ICMR official.

The Centre emphasized that the decision of lockdown in India was timely and that several countries took the decision late. "Like the number of cases, the growth rate of the number of COVID-19 deaths too has fallen significantly due to lockdown, marking a notable difference between pre-lockdown and post-lockdown situations", said a senior official.