Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said on Friday that the next ten weeks will be crucial for India in its fight against coronavirus due to the upcoming festival season and winters, when cases are forecast to explode.
Vardhan said this when he chaired a meeting with heads / directors of autonomous institutions of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and CSIR via video conferencing to review the activities carried out under the “Jan Andolan” on the appropriate behavior of Covid.
Highlighting the importance of the coming months in the country’s collective fight against the pandemic, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said: “We are now entering the 10th month of our fight against COVID-19. It was on January 8 when we had our first expert group meeting. Since then, the journey has been incessant. But today, we can proudly say that we have created significant infrastructure for our fight against COVID. “He expressed his deep gratitude and greetings for the tireless and dedicated efforts of all COVID warriors and expressed his grief at the death of those warriors who sacrificed their salvation, others.
The Minister applauded the great work done by all scientists, even beyond their mandates, and said that today there are 9 candidate vaccines in the world that are in advanced stages. He said that in India, 3 vaccine candidates are developing well, one of them in advanced stage III clinical trials and another two in stage II trials. He expressed hope that India will soon have indigenous production of the Corona vaccine.
Noting that the fight against COVID is not over yet, Dr. Harsh Vardhan warned people against complacency, carelessness and the casual attitude towards fighting COVID-19. He stated that “the next two and a half months are going to be very crucial for us in our fight against the crown due to the winter season and the festival season. It is the responsibility of every citizen not to lower their guard and to follow the appropriate COVID behavior to slow the spread of the infection. “
Urging people across the country to follow the Prime Minister’s wake-up call as part of the ‘Jan Andolan’ released on October 8, the Minister appealed to people to follow appropriate COVID behavior. He said: “The virus has negatively affected the entire world. But simple precautionary measures are effective in preventing coronavirus to a great extent. The use of a face mask / covering, especially in public spaces, and compliance with respiratory and hand regulations are the cardinal principles of the social vaccine. “He highlighted the importance of physical distancing for the effective containment of the disease. Dr. Harsh Vardhan asked all heads of institutions to be the pioneers in showing the importance of this social vaccine to break the chain of transmission of the disease in the country.
On India’s fight against COVID-19, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said: “India is continuously recording new milestones in the treatment of Covid. Our recovery rate is the highest in the world and mortality is among the lowest. Active cases are steadily declining. All parameters have demonstrated the success of the COVID-19 containment strategy followed by all States and UT. We have successfully increased our testing capacity to meet the requirements. India has also now become self-sufficient in terms of masks, PPE equipment and fans that we used to import. “
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