Infection source of more than 100 patients, 50% of cases, not known

Noida: Exactly half the number of Covid-19 cases that have been reported so far are ones for which the exact source of infection is not known yet. Noida has had 202 cases till now.
District health officials and the administration, however, denied community transmission — the stage where the source of infection can no longer be traced within a community with any degree of clarity. Nodal officer for the district’s Covid-19 response, Narendra Bhooshan, said there were more important things to consider. “Whether community transmission is happening or not is not as important as people staying home and maintaining social distancing,” he said, adding, “Even if there is community spread, these are the only ways to prevent infection and stay safe.”
Officials said they are waiting for clear directives from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), which, along with the Centre, maintains that there is no community transmission in the country. An ICMR sentinel survey conducted in March had said “of the 102 Covid-19 positive SARI (severe acute respiratory illness) patients, 40 (39.2%) did not report any history of contact or international travel.”
The last Covid-19 case of someone with confirmed travel history goes back to March 24 — a Zeta 1 resident who had visited South Africa. Since then, 181 more cases have been reported but none had direct travel history. The last confirmed case of someone who came in direct contact with someone who had travel history was also nearly a month ago — on April 10.
Public health experts said there needs to be some clarity on community transmission. “Cases are no longer related to travel history and there is enough evidence to suggest community transmission. There are many asymptomatic people who have Covid-19 but don’t know about it,” said K Sujatha Rao, former Union secretary, ministry of health and family welfare.
Hospital-related cases
The number of cases related to healthcare workers and their contacts as well as patients with other diseases and their contacts have gone up over the past week. There are 26 patients who are healthcare workers and 10 contacts. Additionally, there are 30 who had a history of hospital visits. .