India starts screening of international passengers as Covid alert sounds
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New Delhi: At least three cases of the Omicron subvariant, which is responsible for the Covid surge in China, have been reported in India. Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya held a high-level review meeting on the issue on Wednesday and announced a number of ways to tackle the issue.
He announced the scaling up of random screening of international passengers at airports, especially those who are travelling from countries reporting an increase in cases while reminding people to realise that Covid is still ongoing. Mandaviya also advised taking booster doses and wearing masks in crowded areas, NIE reported.
The subvariant known as BF.7 is the one that everyone is worried about. Gujarat saw the virus's first case in India in October, but the same state saw its second case a month later. The third incident occurred in Odisha.
The US, UK, European Union, Belgium, Germany, France, and Denmark are among the nations where BF.7 has already made an appearance in addition to China. In order to make it easier to track the new variants, Mandaviya advised all states and union territories to send samples of every Covid-19 positive case to INSACOG labs every day. In light of the upcoming holiday season, he stressed the significance of being ready and staying vigilant against new and developing strains. Additionally, he urged people to behave in a Covid-appropriate manner.
The number of cases in India has been steadily declining, with the average daily count down to 158 in the week ending December 19. However, there has been a steady increase in cases recorded worldwide over the past six weeks, with 5.9 lakh instances reported on average per day in the week ending December 19. In particular, China, Japan, South Korea, France, and the US have a large number of cases.
The Omicron variation BA.5 sub-lineage known as BF.7 has the strongest ability to infect since it is highly transmissible, has a short incubation time, and has the ability to reinfect or infect even people who have had vaccinations.