Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has said the coming winter season could lead to a surge in COVID-19 cases in the nation. According to the Health Minister, the viruses are known to boom better in the cold weather and low humidity conditions.

Harsh Vardhan addressing his weekly programme said, “SARS Cov 2 is a respiratory virus and the transmission of respiratory viruses is known to increase during the colder weather. Respiratory viruses thrive better in cold weather and low humidity conditions. There is another fact that needs to be kept in mind. During winter, there is a tendency of overcrowding in residential dwellings which may increase transmission... So in Indian context, it would not be wrong to assume that the winter season may see an increase in the number of cases,”

The minister also backed the role of Ayurvedic drugs after a query posed to him questioning the treatment which are being propagated with various claims while the efficacy of Ayurvedic immunity boosters for Covid-19 treatment is not fully established yet. The query was raised during Sunday Samvaad, a weekly webinar which Vardhan hosts every Sunday with his social media audience.

"Ayurveda has a holistic approach towards disease management wherein salutogenesis is a major approach towards treatment of a disease condition and its prevention," he stated. Ayurveda interventions are prescribed after in-depth study of literature, scientific studies, including, in silico studies, experimental studies, and clinical studies, Vardhan added.

(With inputs from IANS)