Number of COVID-19 cases in India rises to 31
06 Mar 2020
The number of confirmed COVID-19 (coronavirus) cases in India rose to 31 with one more suspect has tested positive for COVID-19. The person, who has travelled to Thailand and Malaysia, is in hospital quarantine and is stable, a health ministry release stated.
There are now 31 confirmed cases in the country, including 16 Italian nationals, the ministry release stated.
As per the latest advisory, all international passengers irrespective of nationality are mandated to undergo universal medical screening. Adequate screening measures have been set up and nine more airports have been added to the existing 21, bringing the total to 30 airports, as of today.
Meanwhile, the ministry of health and family welfare along with the World Health Organisation (WHO) held a day-long national level training on COVID-19. This was attended by 280 health officials from all states and hospitals of railways, defence, and paramilitary forces. It was also virtually attended by 1,000 nodes across the country.
The media is flooded with reports of increasing numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths from various parts of the world. The disease that broke out in China has now spread to Europe, the United States, West Asia, and India.
In February, several Indian students from Wuhan (China) were evacuated and quarantined. This was the first political response by the Government of India on the growing epidemic. Subsequently, a few cases have been detected and confirmed in several states, but they are mostly from urban areas. So far, there have been no deaths in India, but the fear is palpable among the middle and upper-middle classes, thanks to the media coverage of the coronavirus.
Evidence suggests that around 80 per cent of the infected cases are mild, 18 per cent are severe, and only 2 per cent require intensive intervention. Since there is no medication available, the cases need close monitoring, and treatment of secondary complications if the need arises. Special attention is needed for the elderly and other vulnerable sections of the population. So monitoring is key to containing the epidemic.
Chinese data on coronavirus fatalities show that a large proportion of fatalities have been among the elderly. The number of deaths is higher among elders, as compared to the young. Those with pre-existing conditions are much more at risk than others.
Meanwhile, data from the National Centre for Disease Control showed that there were 884 cases of H1N1 virus this year, resulting in 14 deaths. Of that, 70 per cent of the cases were from four states. Tamil Nadu accounted for 172 cases, followed by Delhi (152), Karnataka (151) and Telangana (148). The fatality due to H1N1 is highest in Uttar Pradesh (51 cases and seven deaths), followed by Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.