Coronavirus cases: Has India reached nationwide Covid-19 peak? Here’s what experts say

Terming India the hardest hit country in the Asian continent, experts from the Indian Public Health Organisation (IPHA) have said that the peak of Coronavirus spread may still be some distance away, ANI reported. The team of experts also noted that more than 30 percent of the daily cases and about 20 percent of daily global deaths are being reported from India alone. This was the third joint statement from the IPHA experts on the spread of Coronavirus in India. The team consisting of India’s eminent public health experts was constituted in April this year to advise the central government on its strategy to deal with Coronavirus.

The most crucial finding of the team of health experts was regarding the peak of Covid-19 spread in the country. The experts noted that with over 700,000 active cases and having the effective reproduction number (Rt) of 1.06 (till August 16), the countrywide peak may still be some distance away. The team of experts also noted that the surge in the daily number of Coronavirus cases had been dramatic as the country recorded only 9,472 cases on June 5 which jumped several times to 61,749 on August 23. The report considered the data upto August 23 only, however the daily growth in the number of Coronavirus cases has further increased in the last few days and is now in the range of close to 78,000 cases everyday.

Highlighting another major area of concern, the public health experts said that in view of the preoccupation of the entire health system of the country with Covid-19 pandemic, other several crucial health programmes are receiving limited attention. With many government as well as private hospitals getting converted into dedicated Covid-19 health centres, patients suffering from critical diseases like cancer, heart diseases and requiring regular visits to hospitals are being deprived of the required health care.

The report by IPHA also noted that cases of Coronavirus are even being reported from small towns and cities of the country which indicates community transmission of the virus among all parts of the country. Community transmission is a term used to describe the stage of infection of a disease where the source of infection cannot be traced. Earlier, most cases were being spread from people coming from worst affected foreign countries and their immediate family members, however gradually the virus started getting spread among the whole populace. However, the ICMR has till now resisted from acknowledging the community transmission of the virus in the country.