Covid 19: Indian Curve Gets Steeper Compared To Asian Counterparts

Singapore, Japan were initially able to keep the curve flat but a sudden rise in cases has forced the governments to consider complete lockdown

A woman wearing a face mask, amid concerns of the COVID-19 coronavirus, touches her face on a street in Tokyo on April 6, 2020. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

New Delhi: In the last one week, Covid 19 cases in India have surpassed the 4,096 -mark with 109 deaths recorded as on Monday.  The rate at which the infections are spreading makes the Indian curve flatter compared to the top 10 most affected countries including the US, which has reported the single largest deaths at 1,480 on Saturday. What’s the status? However, the curve remains steeper compared to Asian countries such as Singapore and Japan. The latest total number of cases in Singapore remains 1, 309 with 983 active cases while 3,654 confirmed and 2,994 active cases in Japan, according to John Hopkins University data on Monday. Japan has reported 85 deaths, Singapore 6 and Indonesia 198. Japan and Singapore were able to keep the curve flat in initial days with measures such as active screenings and testing but a resurgence in infections seems to have marred their efforts to contain the spread of Covid 19. With the infection spreading among foreign workers in dormitories, Singapore reported its highest daily surge of 120 cases taking the toll to 1,309 on Sunday. Meanwhile, France and Italy recorded their lowest death toll from the deadly virus. France had recorded 357 deaths, the lowest daily increase in a week and Italy reported 525 deaths, the lowest in more than two weeks. What are countries doing? While Japan's national government has not yet declared a state of emergency despite the spike in cases. “Most companies have asked employees to take telework or work from home, many people are still not adhering to the rules and attending offices even when there is no requirement. It's a cultural thing for Japanese people. It's very hard to change their work style management and forced lockdown in Japan isn't an easy option. So the government is only requesting people to control movement and not to create clusters,” said one of the Indian employees working in Japan. It is reported that Japan's Prime Minister Abe Shinzo will be proposing a state of emergency over the coronavirus outbreak by Tuesday. The imposition of the lockdown has been made possible under a revised law enacted last month because the constitution does not permit the government to demand individuals to stay home due to civil liberty concerns. Accordingly,  it can also order the shutting of schools and limiting access to large facilities such as department stores and movie theaters. In view of the sudden spike, Singapore will impose new restrictions on movement from Tuesday with shutting schools and non-essential businesses. How will India fare? Back home around 700 new cases in last 24 hours have emerged in India, according to the latest data from Health Ministry. The death toll has spiked to 109 while 291 have recovered. The latest data showed Maharashtra (690) as the worst affected state, followed by Tamil Nadu (571) and Delhi (503). It had witnessed a sudden surge in the cases soon after hundreds of people were found infected after taking part in a religious gathering organised by Tablighi Jamaat in the capital city last month. After the incident, all states are tracing attendees from the event and those who came in contact with them. According to a top health ministry official, the rate of doubling of coronavirus cases in India is at present 4.1 days, but if the cases linked to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation would not have happened, it would have been 7.4 days. In the US, the coronavirus death toll surged past 8,400, posing a tough time for its health care system. Cases in India will continue to rise as the government focuses on testing but the full impact of the unprecedented 21-dy lockdown can be assessed only after a few weeks. (With inputs from agencies)