COVID-19 still under control, carelessness led to surge: Health Minister Harsh Vardhan

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday said COVID-19 situation in India is still under control but there is a need to identify the point of lapses that caused a steep surge in coronavirus infections in the country. He said a casual and careless approach towards the safety protocols are the key contributing factors.

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He held a meeting with the health ministers of 11 states to review the COVID-19 situation in the country as infections are surging at a high pace. In a video conference, he announced the recovery and fatality rate of India.

“Our recovery rate is at 92.38%, despite the increasing cases, the fatality rate is at 1.30% of the country,” he said.

The minister also highlighted the worst affected states in terms of coronavirus infections. He named Chhattisgarh with 20% positivity rate and growth rate of 8%, Punjab with 80% cases of UK variant of the virus.

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As far as the reason behind such sudden rise is concerned, the health minister noted that events including grand weddings, local body elections, and farmer’s protests might have largely affected the number of cases.