Worst is over concerning Coronavirus in India, but precautions still needed: Harsh Vardhan

New Delhi : Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Sunday said that the worst is over concerning coronavirus in the country but people still need to follow Covid appropriate behaviour to stay safe.

"At a personal level, 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," Dr Vardhan told ANI in an exclusive interview.

"But we need to strictly follow Covid appropriate behaviour and cannot afford to relax on that front," he added.

Substantiating his point, the Union Health Minister said that right now India has just around three lakh active cases and its recovery rate is 95 to 96 percent which is significantly higher than many developed countries.

"Right now, we have just about three lakh active cases in the country. A few months ago, we had almost 10 lakh cases. Out of over one crore cases that have happened, around 95 lakh persons have already recovered and gone back home," he said.

"We have 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," he added.

Dr 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."

"The major tool against Covid-19 will ultimately be masks, hand hygiene and physical distancing that we all need to follow. The troubles that we had to face as a country due to Covid-19 are on the decline. In the coming year, the research of the scientists in the direction of developing a vaccine will also be successful," he added.

India may begin vaccinating people against coronavirus in January and the government's first priority has been safety and efficacy of the vaccine, Dr Vardhan said.

"I personally feel that maybe in January in any stage or any week, there can be a time when are in a position to give the first Covid vaccine shot to people of India," Dr Vardhan told ANI.

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.