Lav Agarwal, government's face during press meets, tests coronavirus positive
What's the story
Lav Agarwal, joint secretary of the Health Ministry, the Centre's face in efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic, tested positive for the virus on Friday. In a tweet affirming the same, Agarwal requested all his friends and colleagues to monitor themselves and their health in accordance with the standard safety norms. Agarwal is the latest in a long line of government officials to test positive.
Background
Agarwal led daily briefings for the Centre
Agarwal had led the government briefings at 4 pm every day, at the National Media Center, when Coronavirus has just started making its presence felt. In the tweet posted last night, Agarwal said he will remain in home isolation as per guidelines. He also added that contact tracing will be done by the Health Department. "Hoping to see everyone soon," he wrote.
Twitter Post
Have tested positive: Agarwal
Dear All,Just to inform that I have tested positive for Covid 19 and initiating home isolation as per guidelines. Requesting all my friends, colleagues for self monitoring. Contact tracing will be done by Health Team. Hoping to see everyone soon.
— lavagarwal (@lavagarwal) August 14, 2020
Looking back
Agarwal had warned against following herd immunity
According to reports, Agarwal is an asymptomatic carrier, and he had also met NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant and Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, on Thursday. In one of his latest press conferences, he had said that given its size and demographic, India could not afford to depend on herd immunity to beat the spread of the coronavirus.
Do you know?
Dozens of frontline warriors tested positive recently
Meanwhile, as cases rise worryingly, frontline warriors are also getting infected at an alarming rate. In Kerala, at least 23 state government officials, including the Collector of Malappuram, have tested positive, recently. They were involved in rescue operations after the plane crash in Kozhikode.
India and crisis
India has reported highest coronavirus cases this month
Notably, according to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO), India has been reporting the highest number of cases this month, apart from the fact that the country currently has the third-highest number of coronavirus cases in the world. The recovery rate stands at 70.17%, with the absolute number of total deaths having reached 49,134. Also, the infections' tally stands at 2,525,222.
Infection growth
India also has the fastest growth rate of infections
The worst-hit country in the world, the USA, still has only a 1% growth rate, whereas India, the third in the list, has a precarious 2.8%. Despite its high recovery rate, India has a long way to go as far as containing the spread is concerned. Coronavirus cases in second-tier towns and rural areas especially, continue to be on the rise.