Coronavirus: Doubling rate slows to 10 days, says government
The central government on Friday said that the coronavirus cases in India are now doubling over 10 days. The government highlighted that the doubling rate has slowed from 5.2 days in the first week of the nationwide lockdown. It said that the lockdown was timely and effective and without it, the number of infections may have crossed a lakh already. Here are more details.
Doubling rate slows during lockdown
According to the data shared by the government during a press briefing, from March 24-30 (the first week of the lockdown), the doubling time calculated over seven days was 5.2. Similarly, the doubling time for the period March 31-April 6 was 4.2 days, for April 7-13 it was 6 days and for April 14-20, it was 8.6 days.
Over past 3 days, doubling rate slowed to 10 days
Dr. VK Paul, NITI Aayog member and Chairperson of COVID-19 Empowered Group-1 said that the doubling time calculated over the past three days is 10 days. He pointed to outbreak trends to highlight an inflection in India's coronavirus curve from March 23.
'Community surveillance is our primary weapon'
Meanwhile, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Director Dr. Sujeet Singh said that roughly 9.45 lakh suspected cases are under surveillance in India. He said community surveillance is the primary weapon against COVID-19, a new disease that has no known cure or vaccine. To keep community spread in check, authorities are conducting surveillance at district and state levels, he said.
15 districts haven't reported new cases in over 28 days
Union Health Ministry Joint Secretary said that, till now, 15 affected districts in India have not reported any new cases in the past 28 days, with the addition of three new districts: Shivpuri from Madhya Pradesh, and Durg and Rajnandgaon from Chattisgarh. He said a total of 80 affected districts have not reported new cases in over 14 days.
4 new IMCTs sent to Ahmedabad, Surat, Hyderabad, and Chennai
Union Home Ministry Joint Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava announced that four new Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) have been sent to Ahmedabad, Surat, Hyderabad, and Chennai. These are in addition to the six IMCTs deployed in areas of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, and Rajasthan. She said the ICMT deployed in MP's Indore has reported that 20 out of 171 containment zones are "critical."
IMCT in Mumbai recommended increased surveillance in Dharavi
Srivastava also said that the IMCT deployed in Mumbai visited Dharavi, Govandi, and Wadala. It recommended institutional quarantine for 2,000-3,000 people in Dharavi slums along with the installation of more toilets, and increased testing and surveillance.
Health Ministry confirms 23,452 cases, 723 deaths
According to the latest update from the Union Health Ministry, by 5 pm on Friday, India had reported a total of 23,452 COVID-19 cases. These include 723 deaths and 17,915 active cases along with 4,813 people who have been cured or discharged and one patient who migrated out of India. With this, 20.5% of people have recovered from COVID-19 while 3% have died.
