India is entering a crucial two-week period on Monday in its fight against the novel coronavirus, tweeted Congress leader P. Chidambaram. "India is entering a crucial two-week period today. So does the world. It is good that @narendramodi spoke to leaders of opposition parties. I have no doubt that every one of them pledged support to the government’s efforts to battle the spread of COVID-19," the former finance minister posted in a series of tweets on Monday.
A vociferous critic of the Modi government, Chidambaram on Monday, however, sounded mellowed taking note of the government's efforts. He also emphasised that the opposition parties have only tried to make criticisms to improve the government's response to the deadly virus. "If the Congress and other opposition parties have pointed out the shortcomings in the measures taken by the government, it was in a spirit of constructive criticism and cooperation — a point highlighted in the CWC resolution of 2nd April, 2020. There is unanimity among epidemiologists, doctors and district-level administrators that the need of the hour is aggressive and extensive testing. Let the government begin that effort today."
India entered the 13th day of the 21-day lockdown on Monday. So far, the total number of confirmed coronavirus positive cases stands at 4,067, among which 109 have succumbed to COVID-19.
According to various media reports, the upcoming week holds the key to whether India will stay on course to enter the ‘steady phase’ of the COVID-19 pandemic by April 16. And at the current rate, the ‘ending phase’ of the spread in India should start from May 9.
Reportedly, India is currently in the ‘acceleration phase’ that has worsened on account of the spread traceable to the Delhi gathering of the Tablighi Jamaat, according to data compiled by the government.
The data shows that India is on the right trajectory with the acceleration stage getting over by mid-April. Delhi is expected to 200 patients a day before witnessing a reversing trend after April 8, the Economic Times reported citing government data. The estimates are arrived at using domestic data as well as information from other affected nations, including China. They are then shared with the empowered committees tasked with tackling the pandemic.
