New Delhi: Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Thursday sought to quell fears of community transmission of COVID-19 in the country, saying there is no such thing yet.

“During our discussions today, experts again stated that there is no community transmission in India. There may be some localised pockets where transmission is high but as a country, there’s no community transmission,” the Union Minister said after a meeting of Group of Ministers in the national capital.

 India has 538 per million cases

Observing that currently, India has the third-largest number of COVID-19 cases across the globe, he said, “We need to understand this in perspective. We are the second most populated country in the world. Currently, India has 538 per million cases in India, as compared to the rest of the world, which has an average of 1,453. Similarly, in terms of deaths, we have 15 cases per million compared to the world’s average of 68.7.”

During our discussions today, experts again stated that there is no community transmission in India. There may be some localised pockets where transmission is high but as a country, there’s no community transmission: Health Min Harsh Vardhan after Group of Ministers meet #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/JsETsYfHaV

— ANI (@ANI) July 9, 2020

Further sharing the details of the steps taken by the government to fight the pandemic, he added, “We have the best recovery rate in the world as well as the lowest fatality rate. Our county has a doubling rate of 21. The government has already distributed 2,16,00, 000 masks across the country 1,21,00,000 PPE kits and 8,943 ventilators.”

India on Thursday reported the highest single-day spike of 24,879 new positive cases and 487 deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of COVID-19 cases in the country to 7,67,296, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Out of the total number of cases, 2,69,789 are active, 4,76,378 have been cured/discharged/migrated and 21,129 have died. (ANI)