NEW DELHI: Indian Council of Medical Research epidemiologist Dr R R Gangakhedkar, asked on Sunday whether there were signs of community transmission in the country, said, “We are not in a position till now to say if community transmission is happening. Mathematical modelling is being done and we will get some impressions by Tuesday.”In Surat, a 69-year-old became the first casualty of Covid-19 in Gujarat. He had no foreign travel history but had visited virus-hit Delhi and Jaipur. The state recorded se ven new positive cases — three of them above 60 years. Earlier in the day, a 63-year-old diamond merchant in Mumbai, who had no immediate history of international travel, succumbed to the disease.Maharashtra is the worst affected state with 74 cases and two deaths so far, followed by Kerala (67 cases) and Delhi (30 cases and 1 death). Lav Aggarwal, joint secretary in the health ministry, said states have been asked to do their own risk assessment too and identify areas to be locked down. “This virus is very strong and its transmission rate is very high,” Aggarwal said, emphasising again that lockdown is needed to break the chain of transmission.Officials also indicated that the rise in cases is a result of many Indians coming back from affected countries like the US and UK in the last few weeks. A 39-year-old Jodhpur re sident, who travelled by a train from Delhi to Jaipur, has tested positive in Rajasthan, taking the state’s total to 26. The person had recently travelled to Turkey, from where he returned on March 18. Punjab reported seven new cases including four members from the family of Baldev Singh, a Covid-19 positive patient who died on March 18, his two cotravellers to Germany and Italy and sarpanch of his village Pathlawa in Nawanshahr district. His co-traveller Sant Gurbachan Sigh had also stayed at Anandpur Sahib during the Holla Mohalla celebrations. He and third co-traveller Daljinder Singh freely moved among people.“In 80% of cases, the disease is mild. Some don’t even know they have got it. In 20% of cases, Covid-19 causes fever and cough and about 5% require hospitalisation,” said ICMR director general Dr Balram Bhargava.He added that supportive treatment remains the mainstay of care of severely ill patients. “Some combinations of drugs have be en tried but there is no magical pill for its cure. Deaths are still taking place in Italy, the US and UK where the health infrastructure is much better,” the ICMR DG explained. The Centre has asked all states to identify hospitals for acute management of those suffering from Covid-19.“The 800-bed National Cancer Institute in Jhajjar, Haryana, is going to be one such centre,” said Aggarwal, joint secretary in the health ministry. On the availability of ventilators, the officer said 1200 of these machines have been ordered.In good news, a four-anda-half-year-old girl, who was suspected to be the first positive case in Assam , was found negative following tests at the Regional Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory in Dibrugarh