the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, some experts say India — a country of

more than 1.3 billion people — likely has many more cases than the conservative
numbers currently being reported. The outbreak of the new coronavirus, which causes
COVID-19, began in China and has since infected more than 124,000 people across more
than 110 countries and territories around the world. More than 4,500 people worldwide
have died after being infected with COVID-19.

India has conducted nearly 5,000 COVID-19 tests so far, according to the World Health
Organization, which says that the “country is responding with urgency as well as
transparency.” But so far, India has only reported  74 confirmed COVID-19
cases and one death, on Thursday. Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health
Institute tells TIME that count is “just not right.” He believes there must be many more
cases, but they have just not been identified. “I’m deeply worried that there’s a lot of
community transmission and we are just not aware of it because there is not widespread
testing,” he says.

Jha expects there will be a large uptick in cases over the next two to three weeks as
testing capabilities improve. Jha and other experts worry that misinformation from
government officials and BJP lawmakers touting cow products and unproven
homeopathic remedies as ways to prevent infection add to the country’s challenges in
containing an outbreak.

The Indian government has recommended residents   avoid or postpone mass

gatherings  until the spread of COVID-19 is contained. The Ministry of External
Affairs has advised against conducting the Indian Premier League , a popular global
cricket tournament, but noted that the final decision will rest with organizers.

Only government-run hospitals administer the COVID-19 test, which is free,  according to
Quartz . At least 52 labs across India can test for COVID-19, according to the WHO.

Experts say India’s responses to previous disease outbreaks have been relatively strong.
When Ebola hit West Africa in 2014, India developed some good testing centers and
protocols, Jha notes. When Nipah , a virus with a mortality rate around 95%, hit Kerala in
2018, the human-to-human transmission was contained, although 17 people died. But
Nipah was significantly more localized than COVID-19. Containing the new coronavirus
is significantly more complicated than responding to Nipah and Ebola and requires a
more sophisticated response from the public health system, especially because COVID-19
has flu-like symptoms and is sometimes asymptomatic, Jha adds.