What does coronavirus community transmission mean?

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 29 January 2020. Progressively, it was declared a pandemic on 11 March 2020 by WHO.

As of 23 March 2020, more than 2,620,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported all over the world. More than 183,000 people have died of it globally. As reported by the National Institute of Health, the coronavirus can live up to 72 hours on a surface. The Novel Coronavirus invades the tiny air-sacs present in the lungs, creating a respiratory infection. The severity of the infection depends upon the immunity of the infected person. The consequences of the infection can vary in old and young; men and women; healthy and sick.

The term ‘transmission’ refers to the spread of a disease through microbes. Earlier, experts claimed that the virus does not spread through the air. Gravity pulls it down due to its heavyweight; it falls on the ground and sticks to human beings when they touch the surfaces which carry virus over them. However, the claims are being revised now. New studies reveal that the virus is mobile in the air too.

“Community transmission” corresponds to a stage when transmission occurs by interaction within the community, without a traceable source of the infected person. In the case of Novel Coronavirus, the transmission occurs either through direct contact with the patient or by coming in contact with the droplets generated by the sick person. Sieges Surveillance (tracking of the infection by tracing individuals) does not work in this stage.