Coronavirus - Prepared If COVID-19 Spreads, Says Arvind Kejriwal As Delhi Cases Near 400

There is still no community transmission of coronavirus in Delhi but the government is prepared to handle even if it spreads, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday as the number of COVID-19 cases in the capital climbed to 384.

These cases included 259 who were evacuated from the Markaz or religious centre of Islamic missionary group Tabhlighi Jamaat which violated rules and held a massive congregation in Delhi's Nizamuddin area last month with attendees from countries like Malaysia and Kyrgyzstan.

Five more people have died in the national capital due to coronavirus and one of them was a person who attended the Nizamuddin event, the Chief Minister said.

"Community spread of the virus is not taking place in Delhi yet and there is no need to panic. The situation is under control," Mr Kejriwal said.

The government has made preparations if the virus starts spreading among people, he said.

The chief minister also launched a WhatsApp helpline for people to enquire about COVID-19, food banks, shelters among others.

The number of coronavirus cases in India stood at 2,301 with 56 deaths on Friday with the government maintaining India is at Stage 2 of the pandemic.

Of the four stages, Stage 1 is when cases are imported from affected countries. Only those who travelled abroad test positive.

In Stage 2, there is local transmission from infected persons. For example, relatives or acquaintances of those who travelled abroad. In local transmission, less people are affected. The source of the virus is known and it is easier to trace the chain, as opposed to community transmission.

Stage 3 or community transmission is when a patient not exposed to any infected person or one who has not travelled to any of the affected countries tests positive. At this stage, people detected positive are unable to identify where they got the virus from. Experts fear that if India comes to this stage, the rise will be staggering and hard to control. In the final stage, the disease takes the shape of a contagion with no clear end point.