Q/What is the current situation?
A/We are in the middle of an increasing curve of viral infection. It will increase more in the days to come. During the lockdown, with very low testing and people cooped up in their homes, the virus incubated and spread among close contacts. Therefore, during the lockdown, there was no period in which the curve showed flattening. Now, after unlocking, it is spreading everywhere.
Q/How is it spreading?
A/Initially, the government focused on the so-called doubling rate and it was widely proclaimed that the rate had decreased. However, that is a useful parameter only during the early stages. It will definitely take longer for 5,000 cases to become 10,000 than [it takes for] 50 to become 100. We need to see how many days it takes to reach a fixed number like one lakh. In India, the first one lakh cases took 110 days. Now, it takes three to four days.
Q/Is there no way to check the increase now?
A/There is no easy way now. At the time when it was possible to test and isolate the limited number of cases, it was not done. Subsequently, tests have increased, but it is difficult to keep up with the number of cases now. Also, the medical system is reaching its limits as it was not sufficiently strengthened during this time.
Q/How long will the pandemic last?
This story is from the July 19, 2020 edition of THE WEEK.
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This story is from the July 19, 2020 edition of THE WEEK.
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