On the 28th of March, The Health Department of Bihar reported 6 new cases of the Novel Coronavirus or COVID-19, with no travel history or close contact with positive cases.
Health officials suggest to be alert, with these new cases with no foreign travel history these new infections could be due to local community transmission, which is the 3rd Stage of the Novel Coronavirus.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the transmission of the Novel Coronavirus or COVID-19 is in 4 stages.
There are the 4 stages of COVID-19: 1. Positive cases from infected countries travelling to the other country, with no trace of local infection. 2. Transmission of virus from one infected person (with travel history of abroad) to any local, who is a close relative of the person like family. 3. Community transmission, where the infected person, neither exposed to any COVID-19 infected person nor with a travel history of abroad gets the virus. 4. Final stage, when the illness takes an epidemic shape infecting large populations rapidly.
As of now India is officially in the second stage of the spread of COVID-19. However, with the rapid increase in numbers and the positive cases reported without any kind of travel history or personal contact with those who tested positive, raises concerns whether India entered the 3rd Stage of the COVID-19 spread.
The Central Government and Union Health Ministry refused the reports of community transmission and said India is still in Stage 2. Meanwhile, the Indian Government and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) started the preparation to tackle the situation after India enters the 3rd Stage.
Dr. Raman R. Gangakedkar, the Head of Epidemiology and Communicable Disease at the ICMR, said, “We started implementation of strategies way early, while few other countries started late. We do not have community transmission yet.”
In Telangana a total of 10 fresh cases were reported, Maharashtra reported 9 new positive cases, Bihar 6, Gujarat 6 and other states also reported taking the overall tally to 873 positive cases with 17 casualties till date.
Stay tuned for further updates about COVID-19.
