"India Probably Did Best In World": Union Health Minister On Coronavirus

Dr Harsh Vardhan (left) said India was well-placed in the fight against coronavirus.

India controlled the coronavirus pandemic way better than most countries and has done "probably the best in the whole world", Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Wednesday.

"I am confident we have probably done best in the whole world. We have controlled things way better than others," Dr Vardhan said.

"Each and everything was monitored at the highest level. PM (Narendra Modi) has been taking the advice of all experts, field staff, scientists," he added.

The minister's comments came as India registered a jump of 1,118 new coronavirus cases that took the total count to 11,933 infections. These include 392 dead.

"We know the disease and its locations. We know the clusters, we know the hotspots. Right now, we are well-placed. We know our enemy. We know where our enemy is. Around 400 districts do not have the virus," Dr Vardhan said.

"Some 150 districts are hotspots. Districts where cases are being reported but are not hotspots need to work proactively, initiate containment strategies," he added.

The minister also listed India's record in handling health crises in the past.

"I have been working in health for 45 years now, we have never experienced such a pandemic.We handled plague in 1994, never allowed Ebola to enter India in 2014. We eradicated small pox and polio. By 2025-2030 we want to eliminates measles and black fever," Dr Vardhan said.

"This confidence in the ministry is due to corona warriors. Surveillance officers on the field, doctors, nurses, paramedics are doing a great job," he added.

Health experts have expressed concern that the small number of cases in India relative to some Western nations are a result of low levels of testing in the country and that actual infections could be far higher.

Widespread contagion could be disastrous for the millions living in dense slums across the country, where health services are overstretched.