New Delhi, April 24: The COVID-19 recovery rate in India has improved to 20.57 percent, said a top Health Ministry official during the press briefing on Friday. In other words, one out of every five infected patients in India has recovered from the highly contagious disease. The increase in cure percentage comes amid the toll of recovered patients crossing 4,700-mark, as per the latest update issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

"In last 24 hours, 1684 COVID-19 positive cases have been reported which takes our total confirmed case to 23,077. Our recovery rate is 20.57 percent," said Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry. A day earlier, the recovery rate was recorded as 19.89 percent by the government. Tamil Nadu Announces 'Intense Lockdown' in Chennai, 4 Other Cities; Here's What it Means.

According to Agarwal, the Indian health system has taken significant leads in the fight against coronavirus over the past fortnight. A total of 80 districts in India have recorded no single COVID-19 case since April 10, he added.

"In last 28 days, 15 districts have had no new case. Till date, there are 80 districts in the country that have reported no new cases in last 14 days," he was reported as saying.

'Around 9.45 Lakh on Surveillance System'

"Surveillance is our primary weapon in the fight against COVID-19. About 9.45 lakh people are on surveillance system," said Dr. Sujeet Singh, Director, National Centre for Disease Control.

India has so far confirmed 23,077 cases of coronavirus, with 718 patients succumbing to death so far. The number of recovered or cured patients is 4,748, whereas, one foreign national diagnoised with coronavirus was migrated back to his home country.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 24, 2020 04:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).