India recorded 896 new coronavirus infections in a single day, the steepest rise in a 24-hour-period since the first case surfaced on Jan 30. According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, thirty-seven patients succumbed to the virus in the same time period, taking the total number of casualties due to coronavirus to 206. Till date, at least 6,761 people have been diagnosed with coronavirus in the country, as per the government data.
The ministry has also said that a total of 1,487 new cases have emerged in the last 48 hours. The greatest number of infections have been reported from Maharashtra (1,364), followed by Delhi (898) and Telangana (473). A significant number of cases have also been reported from the states of Rajasthan, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, as per central government data.
The worrying figures came just hours after Punjab Chief Minister expressed concern over India entering the stage of community transmission.
"I reiterate, there is no community transmission yet across the country. We must all ensure we follow the lockdown and rules strictly," Luv Agarwal, the joint secretary at the ministry, said during the briefing. Agarwal cited the number of tests conducted on Thursday to reinforce his point, revealing only 0.2 per cent of the 16,002 samples tested yesterday returned positive results.
"On the basis of the samples collected, the infection rate is not high,” he said.
The Punjab CM, during a video conference, said earlier in the day that most of the 27 new cases recorded in Punjab on Thursday were those of secondary infection. "In Punjab, 27 cases are there with no travel history. Yes, it can be said that most of them are cases of community transmission," Singh had said.
Community transmission is the third stage in the epidemic, when it becomes difficult to trace the original source of infection. The penultimate stage in the spread of a disease, only an epidemic stage is worse than community transmission.
Also read: India's COVID-19 death rate lower than many developed nations like US, UK, says medical experts
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