Why Next 15 Days Are Critical In War On Virus

Govt pulls out all stops to check Italy-like community transmission cases as India stares at stage 3 of Coronavirus outbreak

- Isha Gupta, Prashasti Shandilya and Chayyanika Nigam

India is battling stage II of COVID-19. This means only those with travel history to affected countries and people who have come in contact with them can be infected.

But now stage III that is associated with China- and Italy-like community transmissions looms large. If the virus march is delayed, an exponential rise in cases can be avoided. And everything to achieve this has to be done in the next two to four weeks, top experts told Mail Today.

The challenge also comes at a time when cases of Coronavirus suspects skipping airport screening and also jumping quarantine have begun to spiral across the country.

Dr Saurabh Dalal, specialist for medical preparedness and biological disasters at the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), said, “Next two weeks are crucial.

If the existing level of public hygiene and social distancing measures persist, an exponential rise in cases can be avoided.”

On Monday, India’s tally of positive cases rose to 114 including seven from Delhi. Two affected patients — one in the National Capital and the other in Karnataka — have died so far.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director-General Balram Bhargava said on Sunday that the progression to the next stage could be prevented by adopting strict measures such as social isolation.

He however said India has a window of 30 days to prevent community transmissions.