India Is the World ’s Second-Most Populous Country. Can It Handle the Coronavirus Outbreak?

As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, some experts say India — a country of more than 1.3 billion people — likely has many more cases than the conservative numbers currently being reported. The outbreak of the new coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, began in China and has since infected more than 124,000 people across more than 110 countries and territories around the world. More than 4,500 people worldwide have died after being infected with COVID-19. India has conducted nearly 5,000 COVID-19 tests so far, according to the World Health Organization, which says that the “country is responding with urgency as well as transparency.” But so far, India has only reported 74 confirmed COVID-19 cases and one death, on Thursday. Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute tells TIME that count is “just not right.” He believes there must be many more cases, but they have just not been identified. “I’m deeply worried that there’s a lot of community transmission and we are just not aware of it because there is not widespread testing,” he says. Jha expects there will be a large uptick in cases over the next two to three weeks as testing capabilities improve. Jha and other experts worry that misinformation from government officials and BJP lawmakers touting cow products and unproven homeopathic remedies as ways to prevent infection add to the country’s challenges in containing an outbreak. ...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Explainer Source Type: news