Covid advisory again: Random test at airports, try to use mask

Sources in Delhi said two cases of the Omicron sub-variant BF.7, which is reported to be driving the surge in China, have been detected in India so far — the first in Odisha in September, and the second in Gujarat in November. “The cases were detected a while back and haven’t spread so far. It is likely to be similar to other variants that were on the watch list for other countries but resulted in marginal increase in cases in India,” said a senior official.

In Gujarat, officials said two cases of the sub-variant had been reported — in Vadodara in September, and in Ahmedabad in November — and both patients have since recovered.

A press release issued by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation said a 61-year-old woman, who had arrived from the US on September 11 this year, had tested positive for the sub-variant. “The patient had taken three doses of the Pfizer vaccine and was in home isolation,” it said.

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation said a 57-year-old man, who had arrived from Australia on November 11, had tested positive for the sub-variant. “He was asymptomatic. He returned to Australia on November 21. All his family members were also asymptomatic at that time,” said Dr Bhavin Solanki, medical officer.)

In Odisha, the sub-variant was found in the sample of a woman from Khordha district who got tested before travelling to the US.

In view of the rising cases of #Covid19 in some countries, reviewed the situation with experts and officials today.

COVID is not over yet. I have directed all concerned to be alert and strengthen surveillance.

We are prepared to manage any situation. pic.twitter.com/DNEj2PmE2W

— Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) December 21, 2022

The parent sub-variant BA.5 accounted for 2.5% of all the samples sequenced in India in November, according to data from the country’s Sars-CoV-2 genome sequencing consortium INSACOG. To keep an eye on any emerging variants, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote to all states and UTs on Tuesday, asking them to sequence all positive samples on a daily basis.

“Covid is not over yet. I have directed all concerned to be alert and strengthen surveillance. We are prepared to manage any situation,” Mandaviya tweeted after the review meeting on Wednesday.

During the meeting, attended by experts and senior officials, Mandaviya was briefed on the global Covid situation and the domestic scenario, including the preparedness of all stakeholders.

According to data presented at the meeting, the number of daily cases has remained low in India, with an average of 158 positive cases reported per day during the week ending December 19. Globally, there has been an increasing trend over the last six weeks, with an average of 5.9 lakh cases reported daily during the week ending December 19.

While over 90% of eligible beneficiaries have received the first two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, the coverage of the precaution dose, which began earlier this year, has remained low. According to ministry data, only 27% of eligible beneficiaries had received the third dose till September-end, at the conclusion of a 75-day programme to provide free booster shots to all adults.

According to data from the government’s CoWIN platform, the numbers remained low after that – only 96.3 lakh third doses were administered from October 1 to December 20.

During the meeting, it was highlighted that Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Tamil Nadu are the top five states contributing to the daily case load. These five states accounted for 84% of the daily new cases reported on December 20.

Among those present at the meeting on Wednesday were NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director General Rajiv Bahl, National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) Chairman Dr N K Arora, and the secretaries of health, department of pharmaceuticals, department of biotechnology, Ayush.

The government will hold a meeting again next week to monitor the situation.

In his letter on Tuesday, Bhushan noted that a “sudden spurt of cases (was) being witnessed in Japan, United States of America, Republic of Korea, Brazil and China”.

Other than increased surveillance, there is no change in protocol for international arrivals as of now. The protocol revised last month does away with the need for either a negative RT-PCR or complete vaccination certificate. It said in-bound passengers should “preferably be fully vaccinated as per the approved primary schedule of vaccination against Covid-19 in their country.”

—With ENS inputs from Vadodara, Ahmedabad