India's ICMR rules out dreaded Stage 3; confirms no Coronavirus community transmission yet

Amid the surge in the number of Coronavirus cases in the country, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has confirmed that there is no community transmission of Covid-19 virus yet. The development comes after ICMR tested 826 cases to check if there is any community transmission of the virus and found the results to be negative. The ICMR is said to have shared details of the same with the central government on Thursday. 

Had the results turned positive, it would have been a serious concern nationwide as other nations such as Italy, France, Iran are bearing the brunt of the community transmission of the virus leading to lockdown in their respective countries. These nations are at stage three of the virus while India has managed to restrict the virus to stage two with the next two weeks said to be critical in containing the virus.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting with senior officials to review the ongoing efforts to contain coronavirus pandemic in India. He is also scheduled to address the nation at 8 pm on Thursday, March 19, over the issue. As of date, the total number of positive cases in India has reached 168 including foreign nationals, as per ICMR. The maximum cases of the virus have been reported in Maharashtra and Kerala followed by Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Delhi.

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Government measures

The government has announced numerous measures to combat the deadly virus. Thermal screening is being carried out at airports across the country. The Ministry has deployed around 30,000 - 35,000 personnel on community surveillance keeping a close watch.

The government has also allowed private testing facilities to test patients for Coronavirus, besides the already functional government testing facilities. Schools and other educational institutions, malls, cinema halls, pubs, gyms and swimming pools have been shut down in order to prevent the spread of the virus. Also, religious and spiritual places of pilgrimage and worship such as Vaishnodevi, Shirdi's Saibaba temple and Mumbai's Siddhivinayak temple among others have been shut down.

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