COVID-19 Crisis: Know More About The Four Transmission Stages

As COVID-19 rages through large parts of the world, so far 126 cases have been reported in India. 3 deaths have been recorded from COVID-19, the latest being that of a 64-year-old man in a Mumbai hospital. The deceased patient is said to have had a travel history to Dubai.

Medical experts point out that India is currently in Stage Two of the COVID-19 transmission. The next stage, which involves the potential threat of community spread, is seen the world over as the most critical one. It is this phase which affected China, South Korea and Italy the most, infecting thousands.

What are the four stages of COVID-19?

In the first stage of the virus transmission, the affected individual in question tests positive and requires isolation. Stage II involves local transmission wherein those who come in contact with the first-stage patient get infected and require isolation.

Stage III is what is commonly described as community transmission. In the third stage large clusters of communities get infected. Italy's healthcare system was seriously stretched and overloaded in this stage. Doctors recalled that they had to make agonizing choices between patients who were treatable and others.

In stage IV, COVID-19 turns into a full-blown epidemic sweeping through large sections of the population.

As of now, India has not seen a community spread, but experts warn that this level of transmission is inevitable, except that one cannot predict as to when this would take place. They point to developments in Italy, as reported in the media. Italy initially reported 3 positive cases of COVID-19 on February 20. This number rose sharply to 231 by February 24. Four days later, the total count in Italy rose to nearly 900 on February 28. By March 3, the numbers had risen beyond 2500. By March 15, the total number of cases rose exponentially to close to 25,000.