Research will prove if there’s herd immunity, expert says
Rise in cases not unusual, given size of India’s population, AIIMS chief explains
With India seeing a considerable spike in the number of Covid-19 cases during the last seven days, capital New Delhi and its adjoining areas, known as the National Capital Region (NCR), are fast turning out to be the new virus hotbed in the country.
Gulf News spoke to Professor Dr Randeep Guleria, director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, on Tuesday to understand the situation on the ground. Following are excerpts from a telephonic conversation:
■ The number of positive cases in India has shot up significantly over the last week or so. The numbers in Delhi are particularly alarming. What could have contributed to this?
Actually, this spike in the number of cases isn’t unusual because we ought to keep in mind the size of the population we are dealing with in India. With this kind of population numbers, the positive cases are bound to increase. So the numbers haven’t taken us by surprise. In fact, the containment measures have worked so far in keeping numbers under control.
Do you think community
■ spread has already started in India?
No, there is still no trace of community spread in India. There could be some community spread within certain population clusters, particularly in the containment zones. However, there is still no evidence to suggest that there has been a community spread of the virus in India.
Do you think India could
■ be moving towards ‘herd immunity’ in the next few months?
There is still no conclusive data to suggest that we have started developing ‘herd immunity’, but Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is conducting a study on likely trends and the report will be out later this week. Once we have that report, we will get a clearer picture on whether ‘herd immunity’ has set in or not.