Sit in the sun for 15 minutes to beat coronavirus, claims Union Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey

Amid growing number of coronavirus cases in India, Union Minister of State for Health Ashwini Choubey on Thursday (March 19) came up with a bizarre advice to check the outbreak of the deadly virus.

Talking to media, Choubey said that sitting for 15 minutes in the sun could "improve immunity and kill coronavirus". "The sun is hottest between 11 am and 2 pm. If we sit for 15 minutes, our Vitamin D levels will improve. It will also improve immunity and kill viruses like coronavirus," the BJP leader said.

#WATCH Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey: People should spend at least 15 minutes in the sun. The sunlight provides Vitamin D, improves immunity and also kills such (#Coronavirus) viruses. pic.twitter.com/F80PX6VOmy

— ANI (@ANI) March 19, 2020

Choubey's bizarre claim comes hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the MPs and ministers to refrain from making outrageous or unscientific claims on the pandemic, which has claimed over 8000 lives across the world so far. PM Modi has also urged everyone to not talk talk about remedies like cow urine to beat the coronavirus menace.

Notably, the Union Health Ministry had released a three-page document listing "preventive measures" few days ago and the document did not mention that exposure to sunlight or Vitamin D could help in fighting coronavirus. There are 169 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country and three people have lost their lives due to the deadly virus. 

Meanwhile, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Thursday said that a total of 826 samples were tested for community transmission of coronavirus and all have returned negative.

The ICMR asserted that the results of random samples showed that there is no danger of community transmission of COVID-19 in India as of now.

The scientists at ICMR have repeatedly maintained that if community transmission is found and India enters Stage 3 of the coronavirus outbreak, the ICMR will bring changes in the testing strategy.

Earlier, it was reported that ICMR had started collecting samples of those who have been admitted to government medical colleges for respiratory illnesses, both mild and severe. These random samples were sent to the virus research and diagnostic laboratories (VRDLs) network of ICMR.