No community transmission yet: Govt
New Delhi: In a much-needed relief, the government has rejected all the speculations about the spread of COVID-19 into the community.
While talking to reporters, ICMR official Raman Gangakhedkar said, "There is no community transmission in India as yet. We are very much sure about it and request you all to not believe any such studies which are not based on any written theories."
"Be sure, we are not hiding any information in this regard. The moment, we come to know about it, will definitely inform the countrymen as we have to take measures in that perspective so that people would be able to break the chain," Gangakhedkar said, adding that one or two anecdotes cannot be the sample to establish community transmission.
However, the ICMR official requested mediapersons not to report such cases as it creates panic among people, which may affect the efforts of the government taken to brain transmission chain.
Even though, India on Thursday reported 88 new confirmed cases of Covid-19, a Health Ministry official said that there was a reduction in the rate of increment of coronavirus cases in the country and the reduction has been noticed during the lockdown which was implemented in the country on Wednesday.
"Although we are seeing a larger number of cases being reported and deaths recorded, the rate at which the cases are increasing appears to be relatively stabilising," joint secretary (health) Lav Aggrawal to reporters. However, Aggrawal maintained that if the social distancing measures taken by the government are strictly followed, then there would be a time when no case will be reported.
Aggrawal further said, "The Cabinet Secretary had discussed with all chief secretaries the lockdown measures and preparedness of states in terms of hospitals and logistic arrangements. Seventeen states have started working towards building a dedicated Covid hospital," Agarwal said.
He said that arrangements are also being made to facilitate uniformity of treatment and introducing the orientation of protocol by training doctors online in association with AIIMS Delhi.
"The training consists of epidemiology, infection control practices and case management. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is involved by the government for conducting behavioural module training," he said.
"As many as 64,411 people have been brought into surveillance. Out of these, 8,300 people are quarantined at government facilities and the rest are home-quarantined. Before the travel restrictions, a lot of people came into the country and states are now monitoring those people," the health ministry official said.
