New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (March 28,2020) interacted with Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) professionals from around the country through video conferencing to discuss the coronavirus pandemic situation.

The video interaction was also attended by Union Minister for AYUSH, Cabinet Secretary and Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH, also participated in the interaction held through video-conferencing.

During his interaction PM Modi said that AYUSH has a long tradition of keeping the nation healthy and its importance has increased manifold in the ongoing efforts to tackle COVID-19.He also observed that the network of AYUSH practitioners is spread throughout the length and breadth of the country and "it is imperative for them to utilize this network, while working according to WHO guidelines, to spread the message of good practises which need to be adopted in the efforts to control the spread of the virus."

Modi also praised the AYUSH Ministry for Yoga at Home initiative during the lockdown period to de-stress the mind and keep body healthy during this difficult phase.

Streesing on the importance of fact check PM Modi said that it is important to counter and fact-check unsubstantiated claims of AYUSH having cure for the disease.He said that the country must be ready to use the entire healthcare workforce to meet the challenge, and if the need so arises, help from private doctors connected with AYUSH may be sought by the government.

Modi also suggested that AYUSH medicine producers could utilize their resources towards producing essential items like sanitizers which are in high demand and exhorted them to utilize the platform of telemedicine to reach out to the public and generate constant awareness to fight the pandemic. He also highlighted the importance of enforcing social distancing with full vigor to counter the spread of the pandemic.

The AYUSH practitioners also lauded the Prime Minister for leading the country`s fight against COVID-19 and talked about the impact of these traditional practices towards boosting immunity.In a bid to spread awareness about the disease, the Prime Minister had yesterday interacted in a similar way with the Radio Jockeys through video conference and appreciated the role played by them in spreading awareness about the disease.

As on 2:30 pm IST on Saturday, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in India rose to 873 , according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.The total number of active cases in the country rose to 775, while 78 patients have been cured and discharged.The number of deaths due to the infection stood at 19, while one patient has migrated.