India: 341 people infected; 324 active cases, 24 cured, 6 dead; 75 districts under lockdown

March 22: The number of Coronavirus infected people in India crossed 324 mark on Sunday heralding the onset of the third and critical phase of the pandemic. The Union Health Ministry data said that India now has 324 infected people; out of which 24 recovered and 6 died.

The call for ‘Junta Curfew’ has been successful and shows that India is prepared to tackle any challenge, Lav Agarwal, joint secretary in the union health ministry said today. “The central government has ordered complete lockdown in 75 districts where cases have been detected. Only essential services will operate till March 31,” Agarwal said. “Our biggest challenge now is how to break the chain of transmission.”

The total number of coronavirus positive patients in Maharashtra has risen to 74 with 10 more positive cases reported in the last 24 hours, officials said on Sunday. Of the 10 new cases, six are in Mumbai and four in Pune.

Isolation is important at this point in time to break the chain of transmission. 80% of affected recover on their own. 15% witness signs of discomfort and illness. Only 5% enter critical stages, and need to be hospitalised for treatment, said the Health Ministry. The Ministry further informed that currently, we have the capacity to conduct 60,000-70,000 tests in a week. India has tested 5,000 individuals of Covid-19 cases in last one week. Covid-19 is a bio-security hazardous virus. We wanted to ensure safety of personnel testing the virus, said the Health Ministry.