Health Experts To Meet Today After Mutant Coronavirus Strain In UK Raises Alarm

Amid the emergency meet, health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan stated the worst is over concerning coronavirus in the country but people still need to follow Covid appropriate behaviour to stay safe.

Mumbai: Passengers undergo thermal screening, amid coronavirus pandemic, at Bandra Terminus Railway Station in Mumbai. PIC/PTI

Coronavirus in India: In wake of the spread of mutant coronavirus strain in UK, the Union health ministry has called for an emergency meeting of its Joint Monitoring Group (JMG) on Monday morning. The JMG meeting will be chaired by the Director General of Health Services (DGHS), and World Health Organisation’s (WHO) India representative Dr Roderico H Ofrin, who is also a member of the JMG, is likely to participate in the meeting, according to news agency PTI. Also Read: UK Travel Ban: Countries Halt Travel From UK As New Coronavirus Variant Triggers Alarm | All You Need To Know Meanwhile Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said the worst is over concerning coronavirus in the country but people still need to follow Covid appropriate behaviour to stay safe. In an interview with news agency ANI, the health minister said, “I think that the worst is over concerning the Covid-19 situation. I have been following this situation right from the time when we had our first case on January 30, 2020. Since then, I have watched everything from the closest of quarters with meticulous precision. If we look at the things in the last three-four months then things are in a declining phase." While pointing at the figures in India, presently there are around three lakh active cases and its recovery rate is 95 to 96 percent which is significantly higher than many developed countries. He added that India has the highest recovery rates in the world: between 95 and 96 percent. “Compared to some of the developed countries of the world like the USA, Russia, or Brazil whose recovery rate ranges between 60 and 80 percent, we are better placed," Vardhan added. Vardhan said, "Our fatality rate is also significantly low at 1.45 percent now. I feel the worse may probably be over but with a note of caution." With 26,624 new Covid-19 cases recorded in the last 24 hours, India's total coronavirus cases reached 1,00,31,223, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday.