Despite a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, everything doesn’t seem to be alright in India. In the last week, the country has seen a sharp rise in the number of its COVID-19 cases with a lot of them ascribed to a religious gathering that took place in Delhi in the second week of March.
While the narrative of “limited community transmission” came out to highlight Indian’s current standing in terms of COVID-19 transmission as well the mitigation policies, it looks like we are fast nearing the third stage of community transmission. Thus, it becomes imperative for us to trace the trajectory of this transmission and to develop an understanding of the current coronavirus hotbeds in the country.
Kerala
It was from Kerala that the first case of coronavirus infection was reported in the country and despite a stringent system in place, the state government seems to be struggling when it comes to containing the COVID-19 transmission in the state. On Monday, a sharp rise was registered in the number of coronavirus cases in Kasagord with 32 cases coming to light in a single day. The tally has thus reached 234 as per the latest media reports and 17 of these positive cases have a history of travelling abroad, which is probably how they actually got infected and then transmitted it locally.
Rajasthan
As Bhilwara observes a ‘Maha curfew,’ fear continues to grip the place after it became the coronavirus hotbed in Rajasthan and also the first city in India to raise alarms regarding community transmission. After a doctor and his staff initially testing positive for the virus, some 17 staff members and patients have also tested positive for the same this week.
It was revealed earlier that one of the doctors at Banga hospital in the city has a history of travelling to the Middle East and that’s how it ended up spreading the virus to the patients as well as the staff members. Post that, more than 6,000 people have been quarantined in Bhilwara and almost 28 lakh have been surveyed.
Apart from that 13 fresh cases of COVID-19 were reported from the Ramganj area of Jaipur yesterday. It is a densely populated area and the sudden discovery in the cases has left everyone on their toes.
Delhi
Just like Kerala, Delhi also happens to be one of the first few states to report coronavirus cases in India. However, some shocking revelations have been made this week. Turns out, that despite strict government directives against public gatherings, a religious congregation held by Tabligh-e-Jamaat took place in the Nizamuddin West area of Delhi which is said to have been attended by over 2000 people. A number of people having a history of attending this event have been tested positive for COVID-19. Also, as per media reports, the event was also attended by foreigners who later also went to the different parts of the country. The area is under stringent watch, since some 300 people have been showing symptoms of the infection.
Maharashtra
As per the latest media reports, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra currently stands at 338 with a suspected outbreak of the disease in the Dharavi slums being the biggest concern right now. Just yesterday, 18 new cases were reported in the state and out of these 18, 16 were from Mumbai itself. After Mumbai, Pune, Thane, and Sangli seem to be the Coronavirus hotbeds in the state.
Tamil Nadu
Approximately 110 people who returned to Tamil Nadu after the Tablighi Jamaat gathering in Delhi tested coronavirus on Wednesday, thus leading to a sudden spike in the cases in the state and taking the tally to 234. This also marks the highest number of new cases in the country in a single day so far.
