Community spread of coronavirus hasn't begun, says Maharashtra Deputy CM

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday said there were no cases of community transmission of the novel coronavirus in the state and all COVID-19 patients here were those who had come from abroad or the ones who had come in contact with infected persons. In a series of tweets, Pawar said the the third stage of the outbreak, that is community transmission, had not yet been reached, and asked people to ensure it stayed that way by not venturing out onto the streets.

The state is under a 21-day lockdown from Wednesday to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

"The increased number of COVID-19 cases in the state are from people who are in close contact with the people returning from abroad," he tweeted.


Some people got infected during their international tours and carried it here and their relatives, mostly family members, contracted the coronavirus infection, he said.

"We are still not in the third stage, also known as community transmission phase. People should make a resolution that they would not venture out on streets," he said, and called it the only way to break the spread cycle.

The state's COVID-19 count as on Sunday was 196, though the active cases stood at 155.