No Community Transmission Of COVID-19 In The Country: Dr Harsh Vardhan

New Delhi: Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Thursday sought to quell fears of community transmission of COVID-19 in the country, saying there is no such thing yet. “During our discussions today, experts again stated that there is no community transmission in India. There may be some localised pockets where transmission is high but as a country, there’s no community transmission,” the Union Minister said after a meeting of Group of Ministers in the national capital.

Also Read: WHO Report Shows India’s COVID-19 Tally, Fatality Rate Per Million Population Lowest In World: Health Ministry

Observing that currently, India has the third-largest number of COVID-19 cases across the globe, he said,

We need to understand this in perspective. We are the second most populated country in the world. Currently, India has 538 per million cases, as compared to the rest of the world, which has an average of 1,453. Similarly, in terms of deaths, we have 15 cases per million compared to the world’s average of 68.7.

मैंने कहा कि भारत को कोरोना प्रभावित दुनिया के तीसरे बड़े देश के रूप में दिखाया जा रहा है। इसे सही परिप्रेक्ष्य में दिखाने की ज़रूरत है।
जनसंख्या के हिसाब से देखें तो भारत में 10 लाख लोगों पर सिर्फ़ 538 मरीज़ हैं।

देश में Recovery Rate 62.08% है।@MoHFW_INDIA @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/MAEJHd9gop

— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) July 9, 2020

Further sharing the details of the steps taken by the government to fight the pandemic, he added,

We have the best recovery rate in the world as well as the lowest fatality rate. Our county has a doubling rate of 21. The government has already distributed 2,16,00, 000 masks across the country 1,21,00,000 PPE kits and 8,943 ventilators.

India on Thursday (July 9) reported the highest single-day spike of 24,879 new positive cases and 487 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country to 7,67,296, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Out of the total number of cases, 2,69,789 are active, 4,76,378 have been cured/discharged/migrated and 21,129 have died.

Also Read: World Health Organisation Lauds India’s Effort In COVID-19 Fight, Urges To Focus On Data Management

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.