One COVID-19 patient can infect 406 people in 30 days if social distancing is not there: Govt

If no social distancing measures are followed, a COVID-19 patient can infect 406 people in 30 days, the government said on Monday (April 26), reiterating that social distancing and the use of masks are the essential measures to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus infection.

Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Lav Agrawal said many universities have researched that if a COVID-19 positive person does not follow the social distancing measures, then in 30 days the "person can infect 406 people."

"If the infected person reduces physical exposure by 50 per cent, then it has been found that 15 people are infected instead of 406. If the infected person reduces the physical exposure by 75 per cent, then the same [infected] person can infect 2.5 people in 30 days," Agrawal said while addressing a news conference.

He re-emphasised the use of masks and said that people must focus on controlling the spread of the infection.

"Study shows that if we are at a distance of six feet, even then there is a chance of a COVID positive person transmitting the virus to an uninfected person. You can find this situation at home in case of home isolation cases. If masks are not used properly, then there is a 90 per cent chance of an infected person infecting an uninfected person," he said.

If a COVID-19 positive person does not wear a mask and an uninfected person wears one, there is a 30 per cent chance of infecting the uninfected person. If both of them wear masks, "the chance of getting infected is 1.5 per cent".

"Couple this with a six feet distance between two people, then there is negligible risk of the spread of the infection across two people," Agrawal said.

(With agency inputs)