There's transmission in community, but Centre will decide if it's community transmission': Delhi Health Minister

Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain on Wednesday said that regarding the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, it can be said that there is transmission in the community, but whether there is 'community transmission' or not can be declared only by the central government since it is a 'technical term'. The minister called the COVID-19 crisis the "biggest tragedy in 100 years."

Notably, conflicting reports regarding the COVID-19 outbreak have become a highlight among the local and central authorities in the national capital over the past few days. While the Delhi Health Minister has insisted that community transmission has begun in Delhi, the central government is yet to announce it officially and several officials still maintain that the third phase of coronavirus transmission has not commenced till now.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain told reporters today, "There are 31,309 COVID-19 cases in Delhi, of which 18,543 are active cases. The rate of spread of the disease is very fast."

He added, "Delhi authorities will meet the need for beds in different phases. Preparations are still underway for June 30. We're aiming to achieve up to 15,000 additional beds by June 30, but this target can be met by June 20."

Jain also said that when the COVID-19-necessitated lockdown was implemented there were only a few hundred cases. However, the lockdown will not help today as there are a large number of cases, he said.

A possible reason for the surge in positive cases of infection in the national capital during the recent days, the minister said, is because of the flights that were started in Mumbai and Delhi.

Yesterday, Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain had hinted that community transmission was already occurring in the national capital as more than half the cases of infection could not be traced. "We call it community transmission when we cannot trace the source of the infection. In more than 50% of the cases in Delhi, the source of infection is not known."

The minister said that declaring the 'community transmission' phase can only be done by the central government authorities. "The Director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Randeep Guleria, had himself said that there is community transmission in Delhi but the central government is not ready to accept it. Since it is a technical term, it depends on the Centre whether they accept it or not," said Satyendra Jain.