AMN / NEW DELHI
Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said that coronavirus cases will increase in different parts of the country till the migrant influx continues. However, he assured that the situation is being closely monitored and the country’s health infrastructure is ready to handle the situation.
“If we have relaxed the lockdown and are sending lakhs of migrant workers to their destinations with confidence, that clearly indicates that we know our situation and are closely monitoring it. Our strategies are ready. We are testing migrant workers and quarantining them. I think for one to two weeks, the cases will increase till all of them reach their states. However, I want to say to people of this country that if the relaxations are used optimally with discipline, by following social distancing and hygiene, using masks etc, we will be able to restore normal life,” the health minister said.
Talking further about the development of Covid-19 vaccines, the minister said that at least four of the 14 candidate vaccines for the virus in the country may enter the clinical trial stage very soon.
“The whole world is trying to develop a vaccine for Covid-19. There are over 100 candidate vaccines which are at different levels of development. The World Health Organisation (WHO) is coordinating the efforts. India is also actively contributing in it. There are 14 candidates in India also which are at different levels…” Vardhan said.
He said the Department of Biotechnology of the Ministry of Science and Technology is helping the academic world and industry in all manners such as giving regulatory clearances, grants or financial support, among other things. “As far as I know, four of our fourteen vaccines will soon be in the clinical trial stage, within 4 to 5 months. All the 14 are right now at the pre-clinical trial stage.”