WHO lauds India’s ‘tough, timely’ steps

NEW DELHI: The health ministry said the 40-day lockdown was an effort towards breaking the chain of transmission through measures like social distancing and was a follow-up to the 28-day cycle, or two 14-day periods, while the World Health Organisation (WHO) commended India’s “timely and tough actions to stop Covid-19”.
“It may be early to talk about results in numbers, but a six-week nationwide lockdown to facilitate effective physical distancing, coupled with expansion of core public health measures such as detection, isolation and tracing contact of Covid-19 positive people, will go a long way in arresting the virus spread,” WHO regional director Poonam Khetrapal Singh said.
“If no Covid-19 case is reported for 28 days from a specific area, we can say we have been able to break the chain of transmission,” health ministry joint secretary Lav Agarwal said.
He added that through the lockdown, the government was trying to promote social distancing which was key to break the chain of transmission. Singh said despite huge and multiple challenges, India had demonstrated “unwavering commitment” in the battle against Covid-19. “In these testing times, the action lies as much with communities as with the authorities and the health workforce,” she said. Agarwal also said 602 dedicated Covid-19 hospitals having 1,06,719 isolation beds and 12,024 ICU beds had been readied in the country.