Rate of doubling of Covid-19 cases 4.1 days; without Jamaat incident it would have been 7.4: Centre

NEW DELHI: The rate of doubling of Covid-19 cases in India is 4.1 days presently but if the cases linked to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation would not have happened, it would have been 7.4 days, the health ministry said on Sunday.

Joint secretary in the ministry Lav Agarwal said there had been 472 new Covid-19 cases and 11 deaths since Saturday. The total coronavirus cases stand at 3,374 and the death toll now stands at 79.

He said 267 people have recovered.

Asserting that there was no evidence that Covid-19 was airborne, an ICMR official said, “We need to understand that in science … some will have a ‘for opinion and some against’ … we need to take a balanced, evidence-based approach.”

“For example, if it was an air-borne infection then one