COVID-19: India Must Gear Up For At Least Two More Months Of Coronavirus

HYDERABAD: The coronavirus pandemic continues to surge in India and the total number of positive cases has crossed the 1,25,000 mark. The death toll due to COVID-19 stands at 3,720. The Health Ministry has said that the mortality rate in COVID-19 cases in the country is 3.06 percent as against the global rate of 6.65. The country continues to remain in lockdown and the government of India has eased restrictions on lockdown guidelines. A report says that India must get ready to face the possibility of community spread of COVID-19. Some other experts say that there is already community transmission of the virus in the country. 

A statement from PIB read as, "Health care infrastructure needs to be ramped up for the next two months with focus on isolation beds with oxygen, ventilators and ICU beds.” The Ministry said that 70% cases in India are emerging from seven states Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Rajasthan and the major challenge lies in those corporations having shorter doubling time, higher mortality rate and a higher confirmation rate than the national average. 

Prof, K Srinath Reddy, President of Public Health Foundation of India said that people who are describing it as stage 2 still are saying this is a traceable local transmission, it is not unpredictable community transmission. He asserted that there is not only risk but actually the threat of community transmission. Although, India is taking all the precautionary measures to contain the spread of coronavirus. 

He further added that nations in South East Asia, including Malaysia and India reacted to COVID-19 well in time and has kept the COVID-19 death rates per million of the population low when compared to other countries where the pandemic broke out around at the same time. He said that things are going to be difficult in crowded areas and most of the infections are limited to large cities in the country. He said that, "But the most important thing is to protect the rural areas (from COVID-19) because two-thirds of India is in rural areas, and the transmission of the virus is low there because mobility is low."