Covid cases in India and deaths per million one of lowest in world, Centre tells LS

The government on Friday informed the Lok Sabha that statistics related to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in India were one of the lowest in the world.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said India recorded 25,000 virus cases and 340 deaths per million population during the pandemic, one of the lowest tallies in the world. 

He further said 3.46 crore people contracted the virus, of whom 4.6 lakh died, adding the fatality figure was 1.36 per cent of the cumulative tally.

Mandaviya said the Narendra Modi-led regime was working towards strengthening the health infrastructure in the country. 

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“Without blaming previous governments that ignored health infrastructure, we worked for results. In the last two years, decisions taken under leadership of Modi show that this government works with willpower and not power,” he said.

Mandaviya said the first COVID-19 case in India was reported on January 13, 2020, in Kerala, but the first meeting of the joint monitoring committee constituted by Centre was held on January 8. “It means we were alert, a committee had been formed before the case was reported and it had started working,” he added.

Speaking about vaccines and research, the minister said there was a time when it took three years for approval if someone did research on a vaccine. “Hence, nobody used to do research. We scrapped those rules and the nation got vaccine after research within a year – this facility has been given by the PM,” he said.