A police officer keeps watch from atop a building over Dharavi during lockdown to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus in Mumbai.
The rate at which coronavirus cases in Maharashtra are doubling has slowed down to 7 days from 5 days earlier, Maharashtra Health Minister
Rajesh Tope has informed. Maharashtra is the worst-hit state in the country that is facing the impact as positive cases of coronavirus are maximum in the state. At present, Maharashtra has over 4,666 confirmed coronavirus cases including 232 deaths while 592 people have recovered. However, Tope said some health experts are predicting a spurt in coronavirus cases in the state between April 30 and May 15.
"However, this will happen only if people violate lockdown norms," the minister said. The current phase of lockdown will remain in force
till May 3. In a message issued late in the evening, Tope stated that out of the total 76,000 tests for coronavirus conducted in the state so far, Mumbai city alone accounts for more than 50,000. The rate of doubling of COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra has slowed down further to seven days. A few days back, it was five days," he said.
Out of the 76,000 tests carried out for COVID-19 in the state so far, 50,000 have been done in Mumbai city alone. This is chiefly because Mumbai has a very high number of positive cases," the health minister said. He defended the state government's decision of not undertaking large-scale testing of asymptomatic people (those not showing signs of the viral infection).
If a person does not show symptoms, his test may come negative. But the incubation period of the coronavirus is 14 days..so he or she may develop the symptoms later. "Hence, we are not doing asymptomatic tests in large numbers, Tope said. Maharashtra has so far recorded 4,666 COVID-19 cases, the highest in a state.
India doubling rate also surge to 7.5 from 3.5 days, says Health Ministry
The Union Health Ministry on Monday said the rate at which the number of COVID-19 cases in the country was doubling in the last one week improved to 7.5 days, as against 3.4 days before the nationwide lockdown was imposed. Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Health Lav Agarwal provided the latest data at the daily media briefing citing the rate of doubling of infection across the country. He, however, provided the data of only 18 states and UTs. The rates of doubling of infection as provided by him were between 8.5 and 72.2 days. It could not be immediately known which states had registered the doubling time of 7.5 or less.
Giving details of state-wise doubling time of infection, he said as per data on April 19, 18 states and UTs have shown an improvement over the national average doubling rate. Addressing reporters, Agarwal said the states and UTs where the doubling rate is less than 20 days are Delhi with 8.5 days, Karnataka 9.2 days, Telangana 9.4 days, Andhra Pradesh 10.6 days, Jammu and Kashmir 11.5 days, Punjab 13.1 days, Chhattisgarh 13.3 days, Tamil Nadu 14 days and Bihar 16.4 days.
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