Cabinet Secretary warns states of gaps in screening '15 lakh foreign arrivals in 2 months'

With the rising number of Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in India, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba on Friday, has told state governments that more than 15 lakh international travellers have visited India over the last two months. In a letter addressed to all state secretaries, he warned them there appears to be a gap between the actual monitoring for COVID-19 and the total arrivals. He added that such a gap may seriously jeopardise the efforts to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, as most positive cases detected till date have a history of travelling abroad. 

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Cabinet Secretary warns states of a gap in screening

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ICMR warns of community transmission

Earlier on Monday, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Monday, has published a study warning about community transmission of the pandemic may take place from a minimum of 20 days to a few months. It also states that by quarantining of individuals with symptoms of COVID-19 can delay the introduction of the virus into the community by three days to three weeks  - which in turn reduces cumulative cases by 62%  and the peak number of cases by 89%, in an optimistic scenario. In a pessimistic scenario, assuming that the asymptomatic cases are as infectious as the symptomatic ones, the study suggests that the projected impact falls at 2%.

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The study states that while the near-complete capture of COVID-19 cases at airport arrival screening is not feasible, 90% diagnosis among asymptomatic travellers is possible through isolation and quarantine of all arrivals from the listed countries where the pandemic has affected a higher number of individuals. The Indian medical body has since then allowed 35 private labs to test the cases and has also invited quotation from manufacturers for test kits. It also gives daily briefings of the measures taken by the government to stall the spread of the pandemic.

Coronavirus crisis in India

As of date, 724 positive cases have been reported of the pandemic Coronavirus (COVID-19) - 66 have been discharged and Maharashtra reporting the highest at 135. 17 deaths have been reported till date. India has suspended all visas and barred travel from Afghanistan, Philippines, EU, UK, China, Malaysia and mandatory 14-day quarantine from several other countries and the Prime Minister has issued a 21-day countrywide lockdown starting from 25 March to April 15. 

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