India / 'No Corona, Corona No' is new slogan for new COVID-19 strain: Athawale

Mumbai: Union Minister Ramdas Athawale, whose “go corona, corona go” chant earlier this year grabbed attention, has now come up with another slogan to “combat” the new coronavirus strain — “No corona, corona no”. He also said his earlier slogan was effective since “corona is going”, referring to the dipping caseload in the country.

“Earlier I gave the slogan ‘Go Corona, Corona Go’ and now corona is going. For the new coronavirus strain, I give the slogan of ‘No Corona, Corona No,” the Republican Party of India (RPI) chief was quoted as saying by ANI.

In February, a video of Athawale along with a Chinese diplomat and Buddhist monks chanting “Go corona, go corona” at a prayer meeting went viral on social media. The video was reportedly shot at the Gateway of India on February 20 during a prayer session to stop the spread of coronavirus in China.

The minister himself had tested positive for Covid-19 in October.  Earlier this week, Athawale said a Covid-19 vaccine would be available in the country in one or two months. “The coronavirus will be there for another six-seven month, but it has to go one day. Once the vaccine comes, corona will go from here,” he reportedly said.

A new SARS-CoV-2 variant has been revealed to be the reason behind the rapid surge in Covid-19 cases in South and East England. Since then, India and several other countries, have suspended UK flights and imposed travel restrictions.

India registered 18,732 fresh cases of Covid-19, the lowest in nearly six months, while 97,61,538 people have recuperated so far from the disease pushing the national recovery rate to 95.82 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Sunday.