India emerged successfully in mgnt of Covid: Health Min

Puducherry: Union Health minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday said the country has successfully spearheaded the fight against Covid-19 pandemic under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The country also developed a "robust and strong mechanism to counter the public health issues," he said.

"The country has emerged successfully in the management of the pandemic," the Health and Family Welfare minister said.

Meanwhile, India's tally of Covid infections rose by 15,940 in a day to reach 4,33,78,234 while the active caseload increased to 91,779, according to the ministry data updated on Saturday.

The death toll climbed to 5,24,974 with 20 more fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.Active cases rose by 3,495 in a day and now comprise 0.21 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid recovery rate was recorded at 98.58 per cent, the Health ministry said.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 4.39 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was 3.30 per cent, according to the ministry.

Declaring open the Jipmer International School of Public Health here, Mandaviya said the dedication of the institution to the nation marks an important event.

The school will help India as well as the world in efficiently tackling various global public health issues and challenges. "It will also provide the highest level of education in public health, generate sustainable value-based solutions and strengthen the capacity for services and research in the health sector," he said.

He added that the Central government had allotted Rs 66 crore for the construction of the infrastructure to house the school.

"The school would meet the healthcare requirements of people of not only our country but also would serve the entire world. This is in tandem with the Indian philosophy of Vasudaiva Kudumbakam" (whole world is one family)," the minister said, calling upon students and health administrators to be ambassadors of health care and provide services with compassion.

Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan presided over the event and said the Ayushman Bharath scheme was a very effective health initiative and that the Prime Minister had introduced the scheme to enable the poor to get medical care for various ailments.

Chief Minister N Rangasamy, in his address, said Jipmer had earned good reputation all over the country. He said there were still certain shortcomings in health care services in the institute which should be rectified.

Puducherry Speaker R Selvam, MPs V Vaithilingam and S Selvaganapathy and Jipmer Director Rakesh Aggarwal among others were present.

The Health minister earlier laid the foundation stone for the International Centre of excellence for training in medical entomology at the Vector Control Research Centre (VCRC) of Indian Council for Medical Research here.

He also visited the Mosquito Museum there. "The museum is a vital source of information for government planners and a goldmine for researchers," he said in a tweet.

Earlier in the day, Mandaviya performed Yoga at Auroville, near here.