Thread by @AmoghTendulkar

If SARS-CoV-2 was really built in a lab and is a test case for perceived biological warfare in 2020 as claimed by many, then India is being a forerunner in fighting the future wars and repelling such adversities.

In a world slowly going crazy, let's take a look at some usually sidelined facts-

1. Firstly, despite sharing a border of 3,488 kilometres with China, India has only reported 83 cases and 2 deaths- compared to 596 reported cases and 8 deaths in the UK.

2. India is the only country in the world to evacuate it's citizens 6 times (and counting) and evacuated the highest number of foreign nationals.

3. Indian Air Force airlifted a total of 723 Indians, 37 foreign nationals from Wuhan. India evacuated 119 Indians and 5 foreign nationals from Japan. IAF also brought back 58 Indian pilgrims from Iran March 10. Total: 900 Indians + 48 foreign nationals.

4. India is leading the fight against SARS-CoV-2 in South Asia, offering diplomatic, humanitarian and medical assistance to it's neighbours.

5. A total of 56 Virus Research Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDLs) have been set up in India...

...along with an additional 50+ sample collection centres, to test its citizens as well as foreign citizens in a record time, with a plan to build 56 more VRDLs within the next month. Indian military as well as non-military security forces have been...

...independently establishing new quarantine facilities at an insane rate.

6. India currently has one of the world’s most efficient and reliable testing systems, reducing the time taken to get test results back from 12-14 hours to four hours.

US health officials have admitted that their system is failing to pace up and that testing has been very sluggish.

7. As a result, from Iran, Afghanistan and up to Timor Leste, Asian countries have been requesting India to help set up testing facilities in their countries.

8. India has sent six medical experts to set up a make-shift lab and testing facility in Iran to test 6000+ of it's citizens as Iranian officials refused to test Indians. Moreover, post the testing of Indians, the lab will be donated to the government of Iran.

India plans to send 3 more airplanes in the next week to airlift its citizens.

9. India has provided 15 tonnes of medical assistance comprising masks, gloves and other emergency medical equipment to China.

10. India has sent to Maldives a 14-membered medical team comprising of pulmonologists, anaesthetists, physicians and lab technicians & also medical relief to assist Maldivian health authorities.

11. India has screened 10,57,506 people from 30 airports and 77 seaports.

12. India has suspended all visas to India as well as visa-free travel facility for OCI cardholders. It has closed it's border with Myanmar. The Indian nationals coming from SARS-CoV-2 hit countries after 15 February will be quarantined for 14 days.

This is in contrast with the UK, which with far more cases, has taken no quick action whatsoever.

13. India has the world’s biggest state-sponsored health assurance scheme, covering over 500 million beneficiaries (approximately 8 times the size of the UK).

14. Indian drug prices are among the cheapest in the world. Medbelle ranks India as one of the five countries with the lowest median prices for drugs around the world due to an elaborate price control mechanism for drugs and the government’s Jan Aushadi project to provide...

...cheap affordable generic medication to the poor.

15. When Nipah virus was found in India in 2018, three doctors identified it and the State authorities immediately reported it to WHO. Over two thousand were quarantined and 17 died.

#Coronavirus #SARSCoV2 #COVID19india