Coronavirus: Crucial meeting today to assess if there is community transmission in Delhi

New Delhi, June 09: Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday said the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) will hold a crucial meeting on Tuesday to find out if COVID-19 has entered the community transmission stage in the national capital.

Sisodia said the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) will hold a meeting on Tuesday to assess whether there is community transmission of COVID-19 in the national capital.

Addressing an online media briefing, Sisodia said if community transmission of the virus was taking place in Delhi, the AAP government would have to change its strategy accordingly to deal with the situation.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is the vice-chairman of the DDMA, has authorised his deputy, Sisodia, to attend this meeting on his behalf. Kejriwal has gone into self-quarantine after developing sore throat and fever.

"There will be an important meeting of the state disaster management authority on Tuesday. Experts will also attend it.

"If community transmission is ascertained at the meeting tomorrow, we will have to change our strategy accordingly," Sisodia said.

On Sunday, the number of coronavirus cases in the national capital reached around the 28,900-mark, with 1,282 fresh infections in a day while the death toll climbed to 812.

There are 17,125 active cases, while 10,999 people have so far recovered from COVID-19 in the national capital.

Maharashtra(85,975 cases), Tamil Nadu(30,152), Delhi(28,936), Gujarat (20,097) and Rajasthan (10,599) were the five worst-affected states. Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh inched towards the 10,000 mark.

What is community transmission?

Community transmission is when there is no clear source of origin of the infection in a new community. It happens when you can no longer identify who became infected after being exposed to someone who interacted with people from the originally infected communities.