Amid the exponential rise of Covid-19 cases across India, the situation in Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat is particularly worrying. While the state ministers and health experts are out and loud about community transmission here, the Centre still refuses to call a spade.
Not only from the metro cities, talking about the increasing number of positive cases in Guwahati, Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that "By and large all of them are from the community". Currently, Guwahati is under a 14-day stringent lockdown since June 28 and has reported 2,741 new cases since June 24.
Similarly, in Karnataka, JC Madhuswamy, a BJP minister, also stressed on community transmission of the novel coronavirus. "Medical condition of eight infected with coronavirus admitted in Tumkur COVID Hospital is critical.
We somewhere feel and are worried that coronavirus is spreading at the community level," Madhuswamy, Tumakuru district-in-charge minister said. Madhuswamy’s statement came even when the state Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, Deputy CM Ashwath Narayan and Medical Education Minister Dr Sudhakar have denied community transmission in the state.
Adding to claims on the inception of community transmission, Maharashtra NCP leader and Minister Aditi Tatkare said, “By now we are aware that lockdown is not the solution, but gives an opportunity to enhance the medical facilities. Because of the movement in the last few days, cases increased across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and a 10-15% community spread is noticed in the region.”
In Delhi, almost a month ago, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain stated that the source of Covid-19 infection in 50 per cent of the cases across Delhi was unknown. However, he left it to the wisdom of the Centre to declare whether the national capital had entered the community transmission phase or not.
(With Inputs from Manoj Khandekar from Maharashtra and Tulika Devi from Assam)
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