With over 800 coronavirus cases in the country and 17 deaths, the rise in the number of coronavirus patients has seen a sharp rise this month.Led by a rush of cases in Kerala, the daily count of new Covid-19 infections in the country zoomed past 100 for the first time on Friday.

As many as 120 fresh cases were reported from states, 39 from Kerala alone, taking the total number to 850 so far.

With the sharp surge, India has begun preparing for Stage-3 of the outbreak following recommendation from members of the COVID-19 task force, even as Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) continues to maintain that there is no evidence of community transmission in the country yet.

“I have received the report from our panel of doctors recommending measures to prepare for a potential Stage 3 outbreak of COVID-19 in Delhi. We are ramping up our capacity for an eventuality of 1,000 daily positive cases, for testing, treatment and isolation,” Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said during a press briefing on Friday.

“At present, things are under control, but in case it slips out of hand where the number of cases increases exponentially, we have to be ready with all the arrangements. The 5-member committee of doctors – which was set up to give us an action plan that would kick in if the city enters stage 3 of the coronavirus spread – has submitted its report,” he said.

According to the government, currently India is largely reporting cases either having a travel history to the virus hit countries or contact history with an infected person.

“When cases with no travel history or direct contact to diagnosed cases start coming in large numbers, then we take it as a beginning of community spread. Though in that sense, we are not in Stage 3, but it would be better that we do our preparations as if we are in phase-3. In case of community rise, numbers start rising exponentially,” said Dr Girdhar Gyani, Director General, Association of Healthcare Providers.

On Friday, Odisha expressed concern that the coronavirus could be advancing towards community transmission in the state. This comes after a 60-year-old man with no recent travel history tested positive.