The clinical trials of Ayush medicines on health workers and those working in COVID-19 high-risk areas have begun today, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday.
"Today is a very important day, as a historical work has begun in India today. The clinical trials of Ayush medicines like Ashwagandha, Yashtimadhu, Guduchi Pippali, Ayush-64 on health workers and those working in high-risk areas has begun today," Dr Harsh Vardhan told reporters here.
"It is being done by the Ministry of AYUSH, Health Ministry, and CSIR (which comes under the Ministry of Science and Technology) all three together, with the technical support of ICMR," he added.
The Union Health Minister said that an app called 'Sanjeev' has also been launched to collect information from 50 lakh people about the usage of medicines advised by AYUSH to boost immunity.
He added that the while the number of COVID-19 cases in the country was bound to rise considering that India has ramped up testing significantly, but "if you take into account the unfortunate deaths due to the disease in India, then we are better than even the top 20 big countries in the world."
"We are moving towards success in the fight against COVID-19 and I am thankful to the people that they have supported the lockdown and that is why relaxations are now being given in a phased manner," he added.
India's count of COVID-19 cases has reached 52,952, including 1,783 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday.
Currently, there are 35,902 active cases while 15,266 COVID-19 positive patients have been cured/discharged and one has migrated.
Maharashtra has the highest number of cases with 16,758, followed by Gujarat with 6,625 cases and Delhi with 5,532 cases.
( With inputs from ANI )