“We must unlock out of Corona responsibly”: Ashwini K Choubey at ASSOCHAM Web Conference

New Delhi: “The Coronavirus has changed our lives for a long time to come and it is here to stay but the one good thing that has helped us Indians is that we have better immunity than several other countries in the world,” stated Mr Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare and Chief Guest at the ASSOCHAM organized Web Conference on Relevance and importance of Health and Wellness in COVID-19.

Speaking at the start of the session, the Minister said, “I am very happy that ASSOCHAM has organized a discussion on such a crucial issue of COVID-19.  With so many eminent personalities I am sure new innovative ideas will come up and this will help us take our fight forward against this deadly pandemic. All we can say that we Indians have better immunity than many other places and this is helping us. India is fighting very strongly, responsibly and jointly under the able leadership of our eminent PM Modi. Now we are under the unlocking phase and we have to take ourselves out of it responsibly or all the efforts may go in vain.”

Speaking at the occasion Dr Niranjan Hiranandani, President ASSOCHAM said, “As we continue to make efforts to emerge from the shadow of this disease and weeks of lockdown, it is clear what was “normal” before, may not be “normal” in future, and that COVID-19 has reshaped the way we will live our lives for the foreseeable future. We are still at the very crucial phase. But we know that while specific treatment is not yet coming soon, focus on health and wellness is crucial in these difficult times. The individual preventive and protective measures like social distancing, hand washing, good sleep, regular exercise and nutrition (macro and micro) drive away the personal risk of getting the disease. We can’t spread this message enough and must continue with our efforts of making correct and relevant covid related information available to our communities.”

Other key speakers at the webinar included Mr Rehan Khan, MD – MSD India, Mr. Arun Mishra, Head -Global Nutrition Regulatory Affairs, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Mr. Sudhir Sitapati, Executive Director and VP Foods & Refreshment, Hindustan Unilever Ltd and Mr. Deepak Sood Secretary General ASSOCHAM.

Mr Sudhir Sitapati, ED and VP Foods & Refreshment, HUL, emphasized on the need for better focus on hygiene and sanitation to fight Corona better.  “Handwashing with soap is one of the most effective way to fight the virus and to carry on this fight HUL as the leader in the soap market has donated over 2 crore units of Lifebuoy soap and hand sanitizers to various COVID hospitals across the country. COVID also has had a huge economic impact and migrant labourers are amongst the most impacted. Early in the fight against the Coronavirus, we decided on pay protection for three months for all workers either on our payrolls or third-party labourers who are 100 percent associated with us. We believe that the affirmative actions we have taken have played a positive role in promoting health and wellness in homes and among migrant workers during this time of pandemic”.

Mr Deepak Sood, ASSOCHAM Secretary-General said,” At ASSOCHAM, we keep raising issues that are relevant, urgent and needs to be highlighted. This Online three-part series on “Relevance and Importance of Health & Wellness in COVID-19” is another such effort and I must thank HUL for partnering with us to host this. The three part web conference beginning today will continue on June 6th and 10th respectively focusing on a range of issues around the virus, disease, possible treatments (current/ future), nutrition, boosting immunity through natural products against infection, ayurvedic practices, wellness (physical/mental), integrated medicine approach etc. etc. and we will have the extraordinary opportunity of listening to so many luminaries from various walks of life on one platform.”