In the light of the spike in Covid-19 cases, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) will release mathematical estimations of the best and the worst case scenarios on the number of new cases that could play out over the next few months.
According to academic modellings, the number of coronavirus cases in India could run into lakhs, with a few thousand deaths.
“We are looking at mathematical modelling estimates to predict the numbers and will release the scenarios on Tuesday. We have to calculate the need for diagnostic test kits now,” R Gangakhedkar, head, epidemiology and communicable diseases, ICMR, said.
Balram Bhargava, ICMR Head and Secretary to the Department of Health Research, said that 80 per cent of those with Covid-19 symptoms like dry cough will recover under home-based set-ups and their symptoms will not worsen. He added, “About 20 per cent will have exacerbated symptoms and discomfort, of which only 5 per cent will require hospitalisation,” Bhargava said.
Separate Covid-19 set-ups
All States have been asked to identify empty or under-utilised hospitals to prepare separate Covid-19 quarantine and isolation set-ups. “Delhi has identified the National Cancer Institute in Jhajjhar, run by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, as a Covid-19 hospital set up,” Bhargava said.
While Bhargava said that ICMR labs have the capacity to run 60,000-70,000 diagnostic tests a week, it has run 5,000 tests since the outbreak began. “We have till date tested 15,000 samples,” he said.
On roping in private players for testing, Bhargava said 60 labs had approached the ICMR for registration; their capacity to handle samples without it posing a bio-security hazard was being reviewed.
A letter from the Editor
Dear Readers,
The coronavirus crisis has changed the world completely in the last few months. All of us have been locked into our homes, economic activity has come to a near standstill. Everyone has been impacted.
Including your favourite business and financial newspaper. Our printing and distribution chains have been severely disrupted across the country, leaving readers without access to newspapers. Newspaper delivery agents have also been unable to service their customers because of multiple restrictions.
In these difficult times, we, at BusinessLine have been working continuously every day so that you are informed about all the developments – whether on the pandemic, on policy responses, or the impact on the world of business and finance. Our team has been working round the clock to keep track of developments so that you – the reader – gets accurate information and actionable insights so that you can protect your jobs, businesses, finances and investments.
We are trying our best to ensure the newspaper reaches your hands every day. We have also ensured that even if your paper is not delivered, you can access BusinessLine in the e-paper format – just as it appears in print. Our website and apps too, are updated every minute, so that you can access the information you want anywhere, anytime.
But all this comes at a heavy cost. As you are aware, the lockdowns have wiped out almost all our entire revenue stream. Sustaining our quality journalism has become extremely challenging. That we have managed so far is thanks to your support. I thank all our subscribers – print and digital – for your support.
I appeal to all or readers to help us navigate these challenging times and help sustain one of the truly independent and credible voices in the world of Indian journalism. Doing so is easy. You can help us enormously simply by subscribing to our digital or e-paper editions. We offer several affordable subscription plans for our website, which includes Portfolio, our investment advisory section that offers rich investment advice from our highly qualified, in-house Research Bureau, the only such team in the Indian newspaper industry.
A little help from you can make a huge difference to the cause of quality journalism!
Support Quality Journalism
Please Email the Editor