The coronavirus pandemic continues to pose a major threat to health systems, as the COVID-19 case count grows to more than 800,000 confirmed infections worldwide.
At the time of writing, there are 801,117 confirmed COVID-19 cases globally. This includes 1,251 cases in India as of Monday according to data released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Worldwide, 38,771 people have lost their lives to COVID-19. India has witnessed 32 fatalities.
At the global level, when considering the 38,771 deaths and the 172,319 COVID-19 patients who have recovered, this leaves 590,027 active cases. Of these patients, 559,714 (95 percent) are in mild condition and 30,313 (five percent) are in serious or critical condition. 102 people have recovered in India, leaving an active COVID-19 case count of 1,117.
India’s COVID-19 case count is dispersed throughout multiple states and union territories. Kerala now reports more cases than any other state and union territory, with 202. Maharashtra follows closely, with 198 cases. Maharashtra leads the country in the number of deaths, with eight fatalities reported in the state.
The Union Health Ministry has said there is no community transmission of COVID-19 in India as of yet, though Government-issued guidance to emergency relief personnel did identify local transmission with limited community transmission. However, Raman R. Gangakhedkar, the head of epidemiology and communicable diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), clarified that “till we see a significant number of cases to indicate community transmission, let us not overinterpret things.”
Joint Secretary in the Union Health Ministry Rav Agarwal said “we can consider that we are in the community transmission stage only when there are about twenty to thirty percent [of] cases with no clue on how they got the virus. If India enters that stage, we will not hide it. We will tell people so that we can step up the level of alertness and awareness.”
India is under a whole-scale lockdown as of last week to curb the coronavirus pandemic. Prime Minister Narendra Modi explained to citizens that the lockdown entailed “a total ban on venturing out of your homes.” He said the move was “a necessary step in the decisive fight against corona pandemic.”
