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China is devastated by Covid, and India is doing all to not repeat its 2020 mistakes

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Mohammad Bilal
Mohammad BilalDec 21, 2022 | 18:47

China is devastated by Covid, and India is doing all to not repeat its 2020 mistakes

China is witnessing massive rise in Covid-19 cases steered by new subvariant of Omicron .BF.7. Photo:AP

China is once again seeing a massive surge in Covid-19 cases driven by subvariant of Omicron BF.7 with the maximum cases being reported in cities like Beijing. Few days ago, China had eased its Covid restrictions, and since then the cases have been on the rise and hospitals are crowded with patients.

Several videos on social media show mortuaries being piled up with dead bodies. Though China officially has claimed only two deaths on Monday (December 19), the real numbers could be much higher.

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According to the projections, the new Covid wave in China could claim more than a million deaths by the end of April 2023.

What is this new variant? The variant which is causing the infection this time is a sub-variant of Omicorn BF.7, a nomenclature assigned to BA.5.2.1.7.
It has already been detected by Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG). 

  • According to the data from India's national SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing network, BA.5 lineages accounted for only 2.5% cases of the cases in November. 
  • Dr Anurag Agarwal, former Head of INSACOG said: China is now experiencing the Omicron wave that other countries have already seen. Other countries report an increase in cases from time to time, but it has largely not been accompanied by a high number of severe cases and deaths."
According to news reports, the new sub-variant of Omicron is the cause of rising infections in China. Photo: Getty Images

What is the WHO saying? The World Health Organization Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in September 2022 had said that the end of Covid was in sight. Only last week he had told reporters in Geneva that he was "hopeful" of an end to emergency some time in 2023. But the recent surge of a subvariant of Omicron variant is out of the box.

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  • Dutch virologist Marion Koopmans, who sits on a WHO committee tasked with advising on the status of Covid emergency, said: "It's clear we are in a different phase (of the pandemic), but in my mind, that pending wave in China is a wild card," The Guardian reported.
  • At the moment, the data which is shared by China with WHO and the virus database GISAID shows the variants circulating there are globally dominant Omicron and its offshoots, although the picture is incomplete due to the lack of data.
  • According to Tom Peacock, a virologist at Imperial College London, "The bottom line is, it's not clear the wave in China is variant driven or whether it represents a breakdown of containment."
    Photo: AP

     

India's response: Though Indian government has not put travel restrictions as of now, seeing the situation in China, an emergency meeting of health officials was called by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday afternoon.

  • The central government has also written to all the states to ramp-up genome sequencing and send all the positive samples to designated Indian SARS-CoV-2-Genomics Consortium-INSACOG laboratories.
  • Mandaviya also wrote to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to follow Covid-19 guidelines in his Bharat Jodo Yatra and if its impossible to do so, he advised Gandhi to discontinue the march in the public interest. 
  • Dr VK Paul, Member of NITI Aayog briefed the media after the emergency meeting and has asked the people to wear masks in crowded places.
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Covid cases in India: India reported 131 fresh Covid infections in the past 24 hours.  The total active cases in the country stand at 3,408, according to the data given by Union Health Ministry 

However, four suspected cases of BF.7 variant have been detected in India, India Today reported. While two cases are from Gujarat, one case has been traced to Odisha.

Adar Poonawala speaks: CEO of Serum Institute of India which manufactured Covishield vaccine, Adar Poonawala, said that though the rise of Covid cases in China is concerning but India need not panic as the country has excellent vaccine coverage.

  • "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," Poonawala wrote on Twitter.

Last updated: December 21, 2022 | 18:47
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