India imposed a national ban on March 25 to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
New Delhi:
Stating that the coronavirus is a “new agent” of which everything is not known, the government defended the imposition of the lock on Sunday and dismissed it as “baseless” media reports expressing concern that it had not taken the contributions of technical experts when developing its COVID-19 strategy.
The government also said it was “refining” its strategy based on emerging knowledge and experience on the ground.
In a statement, the Ministry of Health said a media section reported on India’s approach to the pandemic and said the foreclosure decision was made in the context of a rapid escalation of COVID-19 cases.
“The rate of doubling of cases had fallen to a low level, pointing to a dangerous trajectory of high case load and high mortality, as in many western countries. The possibility that our health systems could soon be overwhelmed with COVID patients -19 seemed to be real, “said the ministry.
There has been general consensus on foreclosure among all state governments, he said.
The government has already shared information on the impact of the foreclosure and other restrictions to prevent hundreds of thousands of infections and thousands of deaths, as well as huge gains in the health care system and preparedness for people, a said the ministry.
He said policies and strategies must be calibrated to keep pace with the rapidly changing situation facing the nation.
“As is well known in public health, the different stages of the epidemic require different responses, and the nuanced and phased response is known to be a positive characteristic of a resilient health system,” he said. declared.
The ministry also said there were reports in a media section expressing concern about the government’s efforts to contain and manage COVID-19 for excluding the broader wisdom of technical experts.
“These apprehensions and allegations are unfounded and unfounded. The government is constantly in consultation with experts for technical and strategic contributions, scientific ideas and field-specific directions to combat the COVID-19 pandemic,” said the release. .
He said he had formed a National Working Group (NTF) for COVID-which includes 21 members, including technical or area experts from government and outside government.
The task force has established four expert groups and the epidemiology and surveillance (13 members) and operational research (15 members) groups are made up almost entirely of public health and epidemiology experts from government and non-governmental organizations.
The task force held more than 20 meetings and systematically contributed to the scientific and technical response to the pandemic, according to the report.
Among other contributions, the Task Force published guidelines on screening, prevention, treatment and surveillance.
In addition to the DSF, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has also formed an expert group with public health experts as members, the statement said.
Compared to countries that have eased closings like the UK, Italy, Spain and Germany, India reported the lowest number of cases per lakh population, with 17.23 cases per population lakh and 0.49 deaths per lakh population, she said, citing a WHO status report. .
The various political decisions, interventions and strategies for containment and management of COVID-19 have been placed in the public domain and its impact has been shared with people via various media platforms, regular media briefings, daily press releases from various ministries and departments, a panel discussions on electronic and social media, said the press release.
The nationwide restrictions were first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 for 21 days in an effort to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.
The lockout was first extended until May 3, then again until May 17. It has been extended until May 31 and is now extended in the containment areas until June 30.
