In the wake of a massive increase in COVID (Omicron sub-variant) cases in China, India has witnessed four cases. Prime Minister Modi will hold a high-level meeting in order to review the situation in India. The Omicron BF.7 variant has caused an upsurge in the number of cases. The meeting will constitute all the health officials and technical committee members.
Countries like Japan, South Korea, China, Brazil, and the US have seen a serious upsurge in the number of cases, as a result of which all the state and union territory governments have been asked to set up the whole genome sequencing of the positive samples. As per official sources, all international flights from these countries will go through sample testing at the airport. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has assured that such a practise will prove to be a proactive measure in detecting the affected cases and taking the corrective measures.
After reviewing the situation, the Union Health Minister, Mansukh Mandhviya, has asked the people to follow the COVID protocols in public places, and the point of inoculation with all the doses of vaccination is also being put forth.Furthermore, he stated that the central government recommends random RT-PCR sampling of the passengers arriving at the international airport. He further assured that the government is all set to tackle the problem.
The Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre detected the first case of this Omicron variant in India in October. BF.7 is an abbreviation for BA.5.2.1.7. This variant has the strongest transmissibility, with some commonly known symptoms like other variants, such as fever, sore throat, runny nose, cough, vomiting, diarrhoea, and fatigue.
Amid the continuing fear of the COVID-19 variants, there have been several fake WhatsApp circulars containing falsifications regarding the COVID XBB variant. The government has described these claims as “baseless” and has advised the citizens not to be misled by them. The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that XBB is less deadly than the Delta variant.
Due to several mutations in the virus since 2020, Omicron variants could possibly evade the immune response from the current vaccines. To protect oneself, it is recommended that one stand one metre apart from others, wear proper masks, and frequently use alcohol-based vaporizers.
Meanwhile, the former AIIMS Director said that there is not much severe illness symptoms and the country is prepared to tackling the Pandemic problem as almost everyone has been inoculated with first two doses of the vaccine.