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The Union Health Ministry on Sunday confirmed that it was given ₹893.93 crores from PM CARES for 50,000 make in India ventilators.
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan revealed the information in Lok Sabha during a discussion on the COVID-19 situation in the country, reported The Mint.
Vardhan's announcement was a response to the question posed by the Indian National Congress (INC) MP, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
The minister said that from March 16 - March 23, most state governments imposed lockdowns either partial or full, adding that the Janta curfew was an innovative idea to prepare the country for the pandemic and ensure the readiness to tackle the disease.
However, Chowdhury condemned the manner in which the pandemic was handled, saying that it has done everything in a mismanaged way since the pandemic hit the country.
Choudhary also highlighted the lack of data on COVID deaths among healthcare professionals, considering India has seen a large number of deaths among doctors and healthcare workers during the pandemic. He also alleged the government of underreporting of such cases in the country.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Amol Ramsingh Kolhe asked the Centre if India has reached the community transmission phase, considering the country is reporting nearly one lakh cases on a daily basis now. "The Centre has been praising itself about high recovery and low death rate but about 90,000 persons have died from coronavirus," he added.
The government ignored the deaths due to lockdown and the deaths among migrant workers and their families, added Kolhe.
Pointing out the government's late response to coronavirus, DMK's Dayanidhi Maran said that when India saw its first case in Kerala in February, the government should have woken up and closed the border with immediate effect.
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