New Delhi: Dr Balram Bhargava, head of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said in an interview that districts with a high covid test positivity rate must remain under lockdown for another six to eight weeks to control the surge of cases. Lockdown restrictions should also remain in place in all districts where the test positivity rate is above 10 per cent, he added.
Currently, three-fourths of India's 718 districts have a test positivity rate of over 10%, including cities like New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
"The high positivity districts should remain shut. If they come to 5% from 10%, we can open them, but that has to happen. That won't happen in six-eight weeks, clearly," he observed.
Delhi, one of the worst-affected Indian cities, had a positivity rate of 35%, which has now come down to nearly 17%. However, opening the city immediately would be a "disaster", he noted.