Community transmission of Coronavirus starts in Mumbai and Delhi, fear expressed by AIIMS Director

New Delhi: Dr Randeep Guleria, Director of the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), has stated a possibility that community transmissions stage of Coronavirus pandemic has started in the cities of Mumbai and Delhi and expressed concerns over it. Whereas, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia made a startling claim that there will be more than 500,000 Coronavirus cases in Delhi by 31st of July. Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, has endorsed the declaration. Chief Minister Kejriwal also held discussions with the Union Home Minister on the subject.

In 24 hours, between Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, 279 Coronavirus patients died, and nearly 10,000 new cases were added. Therefore, the total number of cases in the country has reached 277,000. Whereas, it was clear that the number has crossed 285,000 by Wednesday night.

149 Coronavirus deaths were reported from Maharashtra in the day, and a whopping 3,254 new cases were added. This is the record for the number of deaths and new cases reported in one day for the state. Before this, on Tuesday, 129 deaths and 2,259 new cases had been reported from the state.

97 deaths and 1,500 new cases were reported from Mumbai in one day. Mumbai has surpassed the Chinese city of Wuhan in the total number of cases. A total number of cases in the state of Maharashtra has crossed 94,000. 1,500 new cases were reported from Delhi taking the total number of Coronavirus cases in Delhi to over 32,000.

Against this background, Dr Randeep Guleria, Director of AIIMS, expressed the dreadful possibility of the stage of community transmission starting in some cities. During an interview with a news channel, Dr Guleria reminded that 80% of the Coronavirus patients are concentrated in 10 to 12 cities. Dr Guleria said that the spread of Coronavirus would have to be contained in these cities first.

The number of Coronavirus patients in the remaining part of the country is not high. It has even been observed to be reduced in some places. Therefore, there is no community transmission in the country. Looking at the rapid increase in the number of new cases in Mumbai, there is a thick possibility of community transmission stage starting there. Dr Guleria pointed out that the period for doubling the number of cases in Delhi has come down to 12-13 days.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia created a sensation making a frightening claim that the number of Coronavirus cases will be more than 500,000 by the end of July. Sisodia also said that preparations have been made to face the situation. Satyendra Jain, the Health Minister of Delhi, also claimed that community transmission has started in Delhi.

Meanwhile, the rate of recovery of Coronavirus patients has increased in the country. The numbers of recovered and under-treatment patients are almost the same. The rate of recovery has reached 48.4%, and the total number of patients with full recovery is 135,205.