Coronavirus outbreak: Here’s what different stages of pandemic mean

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said on March 17 that India is currently in Stage 2 of the coronavirus pandemic but didn’t deny the possibility of Stage 3. ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava said that the third stage is community transmission and hoped that India should not enter the stage.

In the four defined stages of the epidemic, the first stage is when the cases are imported from affected countries and only those who travelled abroad test positive. In Stage 2, local transmissions through infected persons who travelled abroad take place. In such a scenario, authorities identify the source of the virus which makes it easier for them to trace the chain and interrupt it with quarantine and social distancing.

The third stage, in which Italy and Spain have entered, is of community transmission when a patient neither exposed to any infected person nor came in contact with someone who travelled to affected countries tests positive. It requires large scale lockdown and aggressive measures by the governments to contain the disease.

“It would depend on how strongly we close our international borders, in which the government has taken very proactive steps. But we can't say that community transmission won't happen,” said Bhargava on the possibility of India entering in Stage 3.

Read: Mega Chennai CAA Protest Amid Coronavirus Shocks India; Can Anything Be As Irresponsible?

Stage 4 is the worst of all when the disease becomes an epidemic with no clear endpoint. China had entered this stage 4 but there has been a significant decline in the number of cases and the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that epicentre of the epidemic has now shifted to Europe.

Read: IMPORTANT: Recovering Patient Narrates His Coronavirus Experience; A Must-read

Stepped up measures

Indian has stepped up the measures against the coronavirus crisis as the cases continue to grow worldwide. According to the latest reports, India has confirmed 148 cases of coronavirus with three deaths due to the disease. At a media briefing on March 16, the ministry said that several social distancing measures have been proposed to combat the looming threat following detailed deliberations with Group of Ministers (GoM).

Read: Walmart Pledges $25 Million To The Global Coronavirus Response Effort

Read: Pakistan Foreign Minister To Quarantine Himself After Returning From China