On January 30, India had its first COVID-19 patient when a student from Kerala tested positive on return from Wuhan. On Thursday, about two months later, cases across states had breached the 2,000 mark. More than 50 people have died.
Though the Union Health Ministry said there is no evidence of widespread community transmission yet, it has identified 20 existing and 22 potential virus hotspots in the country for special containment measures. A Ministry advisory has stressed that these hotspots need enhanced deployment, surveillance, clinical management, containment operations and laboratory testing at grassroots levels.
Doctors and experts have suggested that efforts in these places can swing India’s war on COVID-19. Luv Aggarwal, Health Ministry’s Joint Secretary, said that containment measures are being taken in all areas, including hotspots. “We intervene as per the protocol even as one case emerges from an area. But when the number of cases in an area is more, the intervention there multiplies accordingly,” he said. The advisory guides states on how to mobilize
Another hotspot in Delhi is Dilshad Garden where a woman with travel history to Saudi Arabia tested positive and infected her daughter and two relatives. She also came in contact with a Mohalla Clinic doctor who has tested positive. The doctor, who is believed to have come into contact with hundreds of people, later infected his wife. Delhi has reported 293 cases including four deaths. The Ministry has also advised states that one “Covid Warrior” be identified for a population of 250 for surveillance-related training. “At least two times the number of ICU beds earmarked for COVID-19 patients should be imparted one-day training of ventilator use,” it said. Other hotspots are reported to be Rajasthan’s Bhilwara, UP’s Noida and Meerut, Mumbai and Pune, Ahmedabad, Kerala’s Kasaragod, Pathanamthitta, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and J&K.