India has put up a strong fight against Covid-19 and continues to battle the pandemic with determination, Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said during the launch of the Compendium on ‘CSIR Technologies for Covid-19 Mitigation’ on Friday.

Dr Vardhan hailed the technological advancements and innovations by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) against Covid-19 and lauded the hard work put in by the country’s scientists and experts.

“The Compendium covers a wide range of technologies and products for fighting Covid-19, spanning diagnostics, drugs, ventilators and PPEs using more than 100 technologies and 93 industry partners. Over 60 of these technologies have been transferred for commercial production,” he said.

Also read: Record 52,123 cases, 775 fatalities push India’s Covid-19 tally to over 1.58 million

Talking about the Covid-19 situation in the country, he said India is not behind in fighting the virus. “We have fought the pandemic in full force. Two Indian companies have reached the clinical trial phase for Covid-19 vaccine. It is a matter of pride,” the minister said. He also said that India is among five such nations that could isolate the Covid-19 virus.

Dr Vardhan lauded healthcare professionals, doctors, paramedics, among other ‘corona warriors’ of the country for their selfless fight against Covid-19.

The minister said that as a result of the country’s collective fight against the virus, India has one of the best Covid-19 recovery rates, around 64%, in the world while the fatality rate is also quite low. The health minister emphasised the improving rate of Covid-19 recovery in the country and said that over 10 lakh patients have beaten the virus across India. “Others are on a road to recovery as well,” Vardhan stated.

Also read: Serum Institute asked to revise protocol for Covid-19 vaccine clinical trial

Dr Vardhan said that India has been supplying hydroxychloroquine to around 150 nations. “The virus is unpredictable, but we have been making strong effort to battle it,” he said.

The minister said that in the coming months, India plans to ramp-up the number of Covid-19 tests to 10 lakh daily. “In April, we were conducting just 6,000 tests on a daily basis, today, the figure has gone up to 5 lakh tests daily,” the minister noted.