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Coronavirus growth rate appears to be stabilising in initial trends, says government
Coronavirus can be contained if the measures enforced by the government are followed said government officials.
The government on Thursday said there was no hard evidence of coronavirus pandemic having reached the community transmissions stage in India and added that the rate of expansion of the disease appeared to be stabilising in the country.
The statements made in the routine press conference by the officials of the health ministry are the first official acknowledgment of positive outcomes in the fight against the disease that has taken 13 lives nationally and infected 649 people so far.
The government official was quick to add that these were only the initial trends.
Watch | Covid-19 growth rate in India appears to be stable in initial trends: Health Ministry
“While the numbers of #Covid19 cases are increasing, the rate at which they are increasing appears to be relatively stabilizing. However, this is only the initial trend,” said Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health & Family Welfare Ministry.
“There is still no hard evidence to say there has been community transmission of coronavirus in India,” he further added.
Agarwal added that 42 fresh cases of coronavirus had been reported along with four deaths in the last 24 hours.
The government also expressed confidence in the measures implemented during the lockdown to prevent further transmissions and said that if followed properly, it should result in effective containment of the contagion.
“The steps taken by the government are so effective that if we follow them strictly, the #coronavirus cases will hardly increase in the country,” said R Ganga Ketkar from the Indian Council of Medical Research.
Agarwal further added that coordinated efforts by the government and the people at large to honour the principle of social distancing can prevent the community transmissions—considered the most fearful stage, when infections grow exponentially, overwhelming a country’s health infrastructure and seriously jeopardizing containment efforts as contact and source tracing become nearly impossible, resulting in the further explosion of the contagion-- as evidenced in Italy.
“Community transmission phase of #Covid-19 will start if the community & we (the government) don’t work collectively & follow guidelines. But it would never happen in India if we follow social distancing & treatment properly,” Aggarwal added.
The officials also said that the government was taking steps to ensure that production, supply or distribution of essential goods & services do not get affected during the 21-day lockdown.
The central government on Thursday announced a comprehensive financial aid package worth ₹1.7 lakh crore to help the vulnerable sections of the society hit by the cessation of economic activity in the aftermath of Covid-19 outbreak and subsequent 21-day national lockdown.
