Rate of growth of new COVID-19 cases steadying for a while: Vardhan

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said the rate of growth of new COVID-19 cases has been steadying for a while and the recovery rate improving, adding that India is on the path of success and will win the war against the pandemic.

He said around 10,000 COVID-19 patients have recovered so far.

"The recovery rate of COVID-19 patients has steadily increased which shows that more and more of these patients are getting better and going back home," he said.

"The rate of growth of new cases has also been steadying for a while," Vardhan said.

According to the data received on Sunday, for the past three days, the doubling rate of the virus is 12.0, for seven days it is 11.7 and for 14 days it is 10.4, the minister was quoted as saying in a statement.

We have crossed over 10 lakh tests till date and are performing over 74,000 tests in a day presently, he said.

The minister added that the government has distributed around 20 lakh PPE kits all over India and supplied medicines [both Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and Paracetamol (PCM)] to more than 100 countries.

He said India is on a "better footing" as compared to other nations, adding the country is capable to pull off any eventuality with more than 2.5 lakh beds in dedicated COVID-19 hospitals and health centers.

Vardhan also urged the people to observe the extended period of lockdown 3.0 (till May 17) in letter and spirit and treat it as an effective intervention to cut down the chain of transmission of COVID-19.

We are on the path of success and we will win this war against COVID-19, he asserted.

The health minister urged people to not ostracize the doctors treating COVID-19 patients or stigmatize the patients who have won the battle against the deadly disease.

They are our heroes and need a worthy treatment, he said.

The minister also had a word of praise for the corona warriors.

Today, the Indian Air Force is acknowledging these warriors, throughout the country, by sprinkling them with flower petals through helicopters, he said.

Fighter jets and transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force on Sunday carried out fly-pasts over major cities and towns, while military choppers showered petals on leading hospitals across the country as part of a mega exercise to express gratitude to lakhs of doctors, paramedics and other front-line workers battling the coronavirus pandemic.

Vardhan said the fight of India with COVID-19 is lauded not only by WHO, but by the whole world in unison.

He also paid a visit to the Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC), one of India's oldest and established medical colleges, to review the status of COVID-19 management.

At the COVID-19 block in the hospital, Vardhan spoke through video call to two intern doctors who got infected with the virus while treating patients at LHMC, and were admitted at the facility.

He also interacted with two patients admitted in the COVID-19 ward through the digital platform, who, in turn, apprised him about the facilities in the coronavirus ward.

In last few days, I have been visiting various hospitals like AIIMS (Delhi), LNJP, RML, Safdarjung, AIIMS Jhajjar, Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty and now LHMC to review the preparedness of COVID-19 and I am satisfied with the arrangements made by these hospitals to deal effectively with the outbreak, he said.

He said there are 130 Hotspots Districts, 284 Non-hotspots Districts and 319 Non-infected Districts.

According to the health ministry, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country is 39,980.