Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said we have saved India from going into Stage 3 of covid-19 or community transmission stage. Also we have fared better than many countries, in the fight against the coronavirus, on various parameters.
He said, "Testing has been made strong in the country. Today, we have already completed 5.5 lakh tests & after increasing our testing frequency our positive cases are not rising. The positive cases are not rising more than 4 per cent. We were all worried if we are in Stage 3, but we have been able to save the country largely from going into Stage 3. We have all the information connected with clusters and hotspots."
On the issue of faulty testing kits, the Union Health Minister said, "We will return the testing kits to their country of origin, & we have not paid money yet. Strategies were made to use these kits in hotspots. Faulty antibody testing kits will be returned irrespective of the country they were procured from, including China."
Giving details of the country's progress in the last 3.5 months in tackling COVID-19, he added, "On January 8, we conducted our first meeting, and today, in comparison with many other countries, fighting against Coronavirus, India has done very well. We have fewer cases per million percentage. We have a mortality of 3%, which is less. Recovery rate of patients, who contracted viral infection, is better than the world. In March, the doubling rate of coronavirus cases was 3 days; today it is close to 9 days. All over the country wherever the virus is active, we have the full details. We also know, what we have to do to tackle this virus in these areas."
Vardhan informed that the country has a very well defined strategy to deal with hotspots & also those districts which so far remain coronavirus free. We are in a better position to control the disease. Containment & surveillance strategies have been designed meticulously. The lockdown has proved helpful in tackling the outbreak of the viral infection.”
