WHO lauds Gujarat's efforts to contain coronavirus

Ahmedabad, Aug 20: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has lauded various steps taken by authorities in Gujarat to contain the spread of coronavirus in the state, said a top government official on Thursday.

The WHO organised a webinar on Thursday to know more about Gujarat's COVID-19 response and best practices put in place to contain the virus, said Principal Secretary, Health, Jayanti Ravi.

Around 20 WHO experts from India and Geneva office of the world body took part in the online session where Gujarat government officials gave a detailed presentation about various measure taken to fight the pandemic, Ravi told reporters in Gandhinagar.

"The WHO appreciated the efforts we all put in to contain the spread of the virus in the state. WHO experts lauded the role played by people, political leadership, officials and private as well as public health practitioners," said Ravi.

She added that WHO experts also suggested to replicate some of Gujarat's "unique and best practices" in other states of India or countries.

In the presentation given to the WHO team, the state government particularly highlighted how surveillance was scaled up with the help of over 5,000 teams and introduction of 'Dhanvantari Raths' (mobile vans) for testing and basic health check-up.

"We also highlighted how we have beefed up testing. Just yesterday (August 19), we conducted over 63,000 tests in a day. Our recovery rate now stands at almost 79 per cent. Over 51,000 beds are available at present across Gujarat for coronavirus patients," Ravi added. Gujarat has so far recorded 83,262 COVID-19 cases and 2,855 deaths.