We must 'unlock' out of COVID-19 responsibly or all efforts may go waste: Union minister

New Delhi: The coronavirus has changed people’s lives and is here to stay, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey asserted on Tuesday, June 2, and tried to placate citizens, saying Indians have better immunity than the people in several countries.

“The coronavirus has changed our lives for a long time to come and it is here to stay, but the one good thing that has helped us Indians is that we have better immunity than several other countries in the world,” he was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the ASSOCHAM.

Choubey was the chief guest at an ASSOCHAM-organised web conference on the relevance and importance of health and wellness in COVID-19 here.

He said innovative ideas will come up to take the country’s fight against the deadly disease forward.

“All we can say that we Indians have better immunity than the people in many other places and this is helping us. India is fighting very strongly, responsibly, and jointly under the able leadership of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Now we are under the unlocking phase and we have to take ourselves out of it responsibly or all the efforts may go in vain,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, ASSOCHAM president Niranjan Hiranandani said that as the country continues to make efforts to emerge from the shadow of the disease and weeks of lockdown, it is clear that what was “normal” before may not be “normal” in the future and that COVID-19 has reshaped the way people live.

“We are still in a very crucial phase. But we know that while specific treatment is not coming soon, focus on health and wellness is crucial in these difficult times. Individual preventive and protective measures like social distancing, hand washing, a good sleep, regular exercise, and nutrition (macro and micro) drive away from the personal risk of getting the disease,” he said.