Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Saturday said that India is “prepared” for the worst situation as Coronavirus cases climbed to to 59,662 and the number of fatalities reached 1,981.

“We do not anticipate the worst kind of situation in India like other developed countries, which are badly hit by Covid-19 crisis, but still we have prepared the whole country for the worst possible scenario,” Harsh Vardhan said while interacting with health ministers and senior officials of north-eastern states, through video conferencing.

He said India’s mortality rate continues to be around 3.3 per cent and the recovery rate has climbed up to 29.9 per cent, while terming the figures as “good indicators”.

The health minister added that the doubling rate of Coronavirus for the last three days has been about 11 days and for the last seven days it has been 9.9 days.

The remarks from the health minister has come on the heels of a statement made in the press briefing by Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary Health Ministry, saying citizens must learn to live with the Coronavirus.

Addressing a press briefing on the COVID-19 situation in the country, Health Ministry, Joint Secretary, Lav Agarwal said that “If we will follow the required do’s and don’ts, we may not achieve the peak in Coronavirus cases.” “There is always a possibility to witness spike in cases if we do not take the required precautions and follow processes,” he said.

The government official further stressed on the need to “learn to live with the virus”.

“Today, when we are talking of relaxations and return of migrant workers, we have to understand that we also have to learn to live with the virus. The preventive guidelines against the virus need to be implemented as behavioral changes,” said Lav Agrawal.

All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) Director Randeep Guleria on Thursday had said that India may witness the peak of Coronavirus cases in June or July.

Harsh Vardhan, meanwhile, added that currently 843 hospitals are exclusively dedicated for Covid-19 patients’ treatment, which have about 1,65,991 beds. “Across the country, there are 1, 991 dedicated COVID-19 health centres which have 1,35,643 beds. They include isolation as well as ICU beds,” he added.

Vardhan also cited there are 7, 645 quarantine centres across the country. “We have distributed 69 lakhs N-95 masks to various state governments. A total of 32.76 Lakhs PPEs have been distributed to state governments by the centre,” said Vardhan.

Meanwhile, the Central government has changed its policy on discharge of COVID-19 patients from care facilities, and only severe cases will now be tested before they are discharged. The new rules come into effect as India braces for a jump in cases, with mathematical modeling showing that the peak of infections may come in June-July.