Our Bureau / Agencies
New Delhi
Amid a spurt in coronavirus cases, the government on Thursday said India has not yet reached the community transmission stage of COVID-19 and asserted that there have been localised outbreaks in some geographical areas. The Centre's assertion came on a day India registered a record single-day surge of 24,879 COVID-19 cases, taking the caseload to 7,67,296. The death toll climbed to 21,129 with 487 new fatalities, the updated data at 8 am showed.
If India has entered the community transmission phase, Rajesh Bhushan, Officer on Special Duty in the Union Health ministry said, "Even today, the health minister [Harsh Vardhan] clearly said after the GoM India has not reached the stage of community transmission. In some geographical areas, there have been localised outbreaks.
"We should not forget that in our country, 49 districts alone account for 80 per cent of COVID-19 cases. In a country of more than 733 districts, if 49 districts account for 80 per cent cases, then it is not justified to talk about community transmission," he said at a press briefing.
Bhushan said said India's COVID-19 cases and deaths per million population are among the lowest in the world. On average, India is testing over 2.6 lakh samples per day for COVID-19, an ICMR official said at the briefing, asserting that testing has been ramped up in the country in a big way.
Recovered cases are 1.75 times of active cases, Bhushan said. People over 60 years account for 53% of India's COVID deaths, he said.
Kerala close to community transmission: CM Vijayan
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said the situation in the state was inching to community spread. "We had said we are on the verge of community spread. We are getting closer to that. The need of the hour is to avoid all crowding. Things went out of control in a market here and that caused fresh lockdown," said Vijayan. Of the 6,534 recorded cases in Kerala, 2,795 are presently active. Meanwhile, a team of 25 commandos was deployed in Poonthura after the area reported 119 COVID-19 positive cases in five days.
Strict measures in West Bengal, UP: The West Bengal government has imposed a seven-day lockdown in all containment zones from Thursday evening to curb the spread of the viral infection. It has listed 25 containment zones in Kolkata, 93 in North 24 Parganas, 54 in South 24 Parganas and 56 in Howrah.In Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath government announced a three-day lockdown from 10 pm on Friday to 5 am on Monday. All markets, food grain markets and other establishments will remain closed during this period and the supply of essentials will be ensured through doorstep delivery.
Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa visited the Bengaluru International Exhibition Centre in Bengaluru on Thursday. | —ANI
Chinnaswamy stadium to turn into Covid care centre
Bengaluru: The iconic M Chinnaswamy Cricket stadium, the venue of many breath-taking matches, will be converted into a massive temporary Covid-19 care centre. The sprawling Bengaluru Palace too would be the next Covid care centre. Both the venues are in the heart of Bengaluru and easily accessible. The decision to convert the two centres was shared by the Chief Minister's Office on Thursday. Days ago, the government had converted the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre on the outskirts of the city into a massive 10,100-bed facility. Collectively, the three centres can house over 30,000 mild and asymptomatic Covid patients. "People of Bangalore need not panic. All necessary equipment and preparations are being arranged by the state. We have over 600 ambulances also ready to take care of Covid patients," R Ashoka, the state's Covid management in charge said. Karnataka on Thursday recorded 2,228 new cases, taking the total to 31,105. So far, 486 people have succumbed to the virus in the state. Bengaluru recorded 1373 cases, taking the total cases to 13,882.
—Shankar Raj
