Delhi to follow the trend of Kerala and Maharashtra in respect to coronavirus

New Delhi: The rise in the new case of coronavirus in Maharashtra (5,427) and Kerala (4,584) on Thursday has raised the eyebrow of the governments of the state and Delhi is no exception in this matter.

From February 1, relaxation has been granted in the national capital in the field of social, religious, sports, entertainment and educational gatherings. Schools have been reopened from February 5. Many offices also have resumed services, thus, leading to an increased public movement.

The former head of epidemiology and communicable diseases in Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Dr Lalit Kant was worried about the fact that very few numbers to people were following the covid – 19 safety measures like wearing masks, following hand hygiene, and maintaining a social distance from others.

He further added, “A significant percentage of our population remains vulnerable to the infection. Also, we have new strains in circulation. So, if we let our guards down, there is still a possibility of a rise in infection once again”. In order to ensure early identification and isolation of positive cases, he stressed on the urgency to continue with an adequate number of daily tests.

Last November, the average number of Covid test carried out in Delhi summed up to 53,579, for both the gold standard RT-PCR and the rapid antigen test. It was on a rise in the month of December (76,508), which dropped to 67,148 in the month of January.

According to the latest government data, the month of February saw a dip in cases (57,989). Dr. S K Sarin, director of the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences commented, “We need to go back to where we began. The daily testing has to be ramped up. Contract tracking and containment of areas most affected by the viral outbreak have to be pursued effectively. There is no scope at all to become complacent because the pandemic hasn’t ended yet”.

According to Sarin, March is going to be a critical time in regard to Covid-19. In accordance to a recent serological survey carried out in Delhi, more than 50% of the total population have already developed an antibody against the fatal virus. However, only 25% of the lot possessed a high level of antibody. It has been warned by experts that antibodies developed through natural infection can save you from infection or severe symptoms only for a limited time span.

The development of newer strains of the virus has been a serious headache. Senior consultant of Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Dr. Suranjit Chatterjee opined, “We need to speed up immunization against Covid. It will offer protection to the most vulnerable individuals and help save a lot of lives”.