The Himalayan state of Uttarakhand is the latest to
join the bandwagon to use traditional holistic medicinal system Ayurveda in boosting
the immunity of people and, there-by, contain spread of the deadly Covid-19.
A cabinet meet chaired by Chief Minister Trivendra Singh the
other day sanctioned Rs 2.48 crore for purchase of Ayurveda and Homeopathy medicines
and the distribution of the same to corona warriors including health personnel,
policemen and sanitary workers among others.
“The cabinet has taken many key decisions today which
includes sanctioning of Rs 2.48 crore to increase the immunity of ‘corona warriors’,”
Madan Kaushik, state Urban Development minister, tweeted.
The government would buy Ayurveda items like Ashwagandha,
Tulsi, Giloi and others items besides homeopathic medicine ‘Arsenic Album-10’ to
be used as immunity boosting medicines.
“…telemedicine facility will be started across the state.
Similarly, e-hospital facilities will be started at the Doon Hospital. Starting
from April 30, Covid-19 tests can be done at the Srinagar Medical College. Permission
has also been sought for conducting the tests at Almora Medical College and
Haridwar Hospital,” he said.
States like Kerala, Goa, Haryana and Gujarat have already started
using Ayurveda for preventing and mitigating the coronavirus infection.
The AYUSH ministry too issued advisory recommending ayurvedic
measures under four heads, namely General measures, Ayurvedic immunity promoting
measures, Simple ayurvedic procedures and the measures to be taken upon
experiencing dry cough/sore throat.
