'COVID-19 epidemic in India, South Asia growing but not exploding': WHO Official Mike Ryan

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday said the number of COVID-19 cases in India has been doubling every three weeks but the epidemic is not growing exponentially in the country and South Asia region.

 "In South Asia, not just in India, but in Bangladesh and Pakistan and other countries of South Asia with large dense populations, the disease has not exploded, but there is always the risk of that happening", Dr. Mike Ryan, WHO Emergencies Programme Chief asserted while addressing a news conference.

Noting India has a population of 1.3 billion, Soumya Swaminathan, WHO's chief scientist, said that the 200,000 reported cases, "look big but for a country of this size it's still modest".

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Meanwhile, WHO epidemiologist Dr. Maria van Kerkhove said PCR tests can show a person with mild infection being positive for fragments of the virus 2-3 weeks after the onset of symptoms and those with severe cases "for much longer". "But we don’t know what that relates to in terms of infectiousness if somebody can actually pass the virus," she said.

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COVID-19 Cases in India

India's total COVID-19 cases stand at 2,36,657 of which 1,15,942 are active; 6,642 people have died thus far while 1,14,073 have recovered. Maharashtra continues to be the worst-hit state for the coronavirus infection with 80, 229 total cases. Thane district in Maharastra on Friday crossed the 10,000-mark as 444 people tested positive for novel coronavirus, an official said. The district's COVID-19 count is now 10,419, and 18 deaths on Friday took the toll to 342, he added. Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan have the highest number of cases after Maharashtra.

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