No need to panic over Covid surge in China, says Adar Poonawalla

New Delhi: As China is seeing a sudden surge in Covid-19 cases, Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla said Indian residents do not need to panic as the country has "excellent vaccination coverage and track record."

However, he asked people to adhere to the guidelines set by the government and health ministry. He tweeted: "The news of rising COVID cases coming out of China is concerning, we need not panic given our excellent vaccination coverage and track record. We must continue to trust and follow the guidelines set by the Government of India and @MoHFW_INDIA."

Addressing the concerns, the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday asked states and union territories to send samples of positive cases to INSACOG labs to check for new variants. "In view of the sudden spurt of cases being witnessed in Japan, the United States of America, the Republic of Korea, Brazil, and China, it is essential to gear up the whole genome sequencing of positive cases samples to track the variants through SARS-CoV-2 Genome Consortium Network (INSACOG) network, said health secretary Rajesh Bhushan.

"All states are requested to ensure that as far as possible samples of all positive cases, on a daily basis, are sent to the designated INSACOG Genome Sequencing Laboratories (IGSLs) that are mapped to the States and UTs. Such an exercise will enable the timely detection of new variants. If any, circulating in the country will facilitate the undertaking of requisite public health measures for the same," he said in a letter to the states and UTs.

The Hong Kong Post reported that China is seeing countless cases of Covid-19 after the government lifted the restrictions in place. The official count of infected people is around 2,000 per day. Former Indian diplomat KP Fabian on Tuesday observed that over 60% of the Chinese population and 10% of the world's population is likely to get infected.

This hints that around 800 million people across the world are likely to get Covid-19. He opined that something has gone wrong with the way China is fighting Covid. "Seriously, their vaccine is not that good and they refuse to get the better vaccine or to improve their own vaccine, though something has been done, but not enough," he added.

Addressing the concerns, the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday asked states and union territories to send samples of positive cases to INSACOG labs to check for new variants.