WHO praises India’s efforts to combat coronavirus

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has praised the Indian government’s commitment to fight the coronavirus. Speaking to reporters after holding a meeting with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Henk Bekedam, WHO Representative to India, praised its efforts to isolate the strains of Sars-Cov-2.

“I think the commitment of the Indian government from the top level- the Prime Minister’s office himself – has been enormous, very impressive. This is one of the reasons why India is doing very well. I am very impressed that everyone has been mobilised,” said Bekedam. “We have very good research capacity in India and especially at the ICMR and the Department of Health Research. They have been able to isolate the virus, (and) now India will continue to be part of the research community”.

Last week, the ICMR announced they have been successful in isolating the new strain of coronavirus, the first step towards expediting the development of drugs and vaccines for COVID-19.

India has reported 126 cases of coronavirus, while three people have died in the country from the infection.