What is Community Transmission? Has India Entered into Community Spread Phase? As COVID-19 Tally Spikes, Here's What States And Centre Say

New Delhi, June 11: The number of coronavirus cases in India has crossed the 2.7 lakh mark on Thursday. India reported the highest single-day spike of 9,996 cases over the past 24 hours. The total death toll of the country has jumped to 8,102. There has been a lot of debate on whether India has reached a community transmission phase or not. Community Transmission of Coronavirus Infection Well-Established: Health Experts.

On Wednesday, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that the source of COVID-19 in 50 percent of the cases is unknown, and added that it is up to the Centre to decide whether the city had entered the community transmission phase. India Records Highest Single-Day Spike of 9,996 COVID-19 Cases in Past 24 Hours, Death Toll Jumps to 8,102.

The government of Maharashtra, which is the biggest hotspot of coronavirus in the country with more than 90,000 cases has denied all reports of community transmission. Health Minister Rajesh Tope said, "I don't believe there is community spread. This is the assumption in my state."

Tamil Nadu is the second worst-hit state in the coronavirus pandemic in India. The state has a total of36841 cases so far. Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday said that there is no community spread in Tamil Nadu and mentioned that the virus has been curtailed in several districts as well.

What is Community Transmission?

Community transmission is a phase when the source of the contagious is not known, which means no one will be able to trace the infection back to the carrier. This phase is critical and it means it can infect people with no history — either of travel to or contact with affected people and areas. At this stage, everyone is at a risk to catch the infection.

Has Community Transmission Started in India?

Looking at the huge spike in cases, there have been various reports that say that community transmission has started in India. However, the centre has denied and has maintained that the country has not reached the stage. Few experts in the medical fraternity, however, believe that we have reached the community transmission phase and the only reason, why it is not getting detected is because we are not testing enough.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 11, 2020 02:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).