Covid-19 cases doubling every 9.7 days now — Harsh Vardhan

New Delhi, April 19 (IANS): Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on Sunday asserted that doubling rate of Covid-19 cases has increased from three days before imposition of lockdown in March to 9.7 days now.

"The rate of growth of new cases has been steadying for a while. As per the data received today by 8 a.m., over the past seven days, the doubling rate is 7.2 days, for the past 14 days it is 6.2, and over past 3 days it stands at 9.7. Before the lockdown, India's doubling rate was about 3 days," he said.

The Health Minister said that the doubling rate is lower despite the fact that number of tests done every day have increased by almost 14 times.

"Same way, if you look at growth factor -- from 15th March to 31st, it was 2.1, whereas in April it has come down to 1.2 which is a good drop of 40 per cent which is a positive indication and is really encouraging for the whole country," he said.

The figures indicate that the total number of cases are not increasing and may start stabilising, he added.

Harsh Vardhan's comments came after he reviewed the situation at Delhi's Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital.

Health ministry says no to spraying of disinfectants on humans

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has said spraying of disinfectants on individuals is not recommended under any circumstances.

"Even if a person is potentially exposed to the Covid-19, spraying disinfectants on external parts doesn't kill the virus that has entered your body," the Ministry said in an advisory here on Saturday.

Spraying individuals with chemical disinfectants is physically and psychologically harmful. Disinfectants were chemicals that destroy disease causing pathogens or other harmful microorganisms, it said.

The Ministry said spraying of chlorine on individuals could lead to irritation of eyes and skin and potentially gastrointestinal effects, like nausea and vomiting. "Inhalation of sodium hypochlorite can lead to irritation of mucous membranes in nose, throat and respiratory tract and may also cause bronchospasm," it said.

Also, use of such measures might lead to a false sense of disinfection and safety, it said and added it could hamper public observance of hand washing and social distancing measures.

The Health Ministry said it had received many queries regarding the efficacy of disinfectants, like sodium hypochlorite, spray to disinfect people.

The strategy seems to have gained a lot of media attention and is also being reportedly used at local levels in certain districts/local bodies. On March 31, a group of migrant workers, including women and children was seen being fumigated with a chemical solution after their arrival to a village in UP amid nationwide lockdown. The incident caught everyone's attention when its video went viral on social media.