80% Of People Infected With COVID-19 Will Recover Themselves: ICMR Chief

Majority of the people with coronavirus are likely to experience a cold-like fever and they will recover on their own, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director-General Balram Bhargava on Sunday, March 22.

"It is essential to understand the ailment. 80 per cent of the people will experience cold-like fever and they will recover. 20 per cent may experience cough, cold, fever and some of them may need to be admitted to hospital," The Times of India quoted Bhargava as saying.

Bhargava added that they can conduct 10,000 tests per day and have conducted 15,000-17,000 tests so far.

The ICMR chief stressed on the need to follow strict isolation and that the virus transmits through droplets and not directly through the air.

As the number of confirmed cases in India are rising each day, the Centre has announced a complete lockdown in 75 districts and 80 cities across the nations.

AIIMS building in Haryana's Jhajjar, which has 800 beds, will be used exclusively to treat Covid-19 patients, Bhargava stated.

He also said that pricing was never an issue to get private labs on board for coronavirus testing. The central government on March 21 had recommended that the maximum charge for each COVID-19 test by private laboratories should not exceed ₹4,500.

According to the guidelines, the National Task Force recommends that the maximum cost for testing should not exceed ₹4,500. This may include ₹1,500 as a screening test for suspect cases and an additional ₹3,000 for a confirmation test.

Bhargava said that so far 60 private labs have registered so far to conduct Covid-19 tests. States will earmark hospitals to treat exclusively coronavirus-affected patients, said a Union Health Ministry official.

Also Read: "Not Just Lockdown, We Need Strict Public Health Measures": WHO Expert On COVID-19 Outbreak