Thread by @drharshvardhan

In an interview with @IndiaToday, I said India outranks rest of the world as far as statistics of successful combating of #COVID19 go. With only 55K cases, a recovery rate of 30%, 17K cured patients & a mortality rate of 3%, our containment strategies seem to have paid off well!

I said India has,so far,not seen an exponential growth in #COVID19 cases.With a robust integrated disease surveillance system,we have a history of having effectively warded off Ebola & Nipah.I said the world praises India for having eradicated Smallpox & Polio
#IndiaFightsCorona

There's no reason to believe that we're not in full control, I said.Intensive contact tracing & surveillance thro classification into differential zones has been the key to our success.Until a vaccine/cure develops,physical distancing+lockdown is the 'social vaccine' to follow.

I'm happy to share that our strategy and decisions to fight the #pandemic will follow Prime Minister's principle of “जान और जहान दोनों जरुरी हैं “. My intention is to remain proactive and sensitive while serving & protecting lives & livelihood.
@MoHFW_INDIA

Corona isn't the 1st virus to have attacked the world. There've been various dreaded viruses that have created havoc.However,India has a history of having eliminated 2 worst diseases-Smallpox & Poliomyelitis.We're using all our disease surveillance experience in fighting #COVID19

As a doctor & country's Health Minister, I have always advised keeping a distance from liquor, smoking and other addictions. Personally, I do not back the idea of opening liquor shops when #SocialDistancing is the only available & effective vaccine. It was not the best option.

State governments are being advised by Central observers to look for community leaders who can be incharge of micro cluster containment strategies in their respective areas to help spotting of positive cases and containing the spread of #COVID19

@MoHFW_INDIA

We have a judicious, effective & clearly defined testing policy,drafted by @ICMRDELHI . We also take proactive measures to let the States know about any modifications in this testing policy from time to time. We have already scaled up our testing capabilities in a major way.