In view of the spurt in COVID-19 cases, states and union territories have been asked to submit a “large number” of samples for whole genome sequencing from districts and regions that have tested positive for COVID-19 over a period of time. 19 cases have seen an increase. In seven days, official sources said on Saturday.
The directive was issued during a meeting of INSACOG on Friday, which reviewed the COVID data to examine the possibility of any new emerging variant or sub-version and the reasons behind the successful transition.
According to experts from the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), Omicron and its sub-lineages – mainly BA.2 and BA.2.38 – are currently behind the current increase in the number of COVID cases. country according to one source
BA.2 and its sub-lineages account for more than 85 percent of the COVID cases in India, with BA.2.38 being found in about 33 percent of the samples.
The source said that BA.4 and BA.5 were found in less than 10 per cent of the samples. “The idea of asking states and union territories to send samples in large numbers is to keep a close watch on the current circulating sub-lineage of Omicron and its relationship with the current epidemiological picture,” an official told PTI.
“Furthermore, we want to see if we are missing any important clues about new sub-types during routine sequencing through sentinel surveillance,” the official said. As of today, 10 states and union territories – Maharashtra, Kerala, Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal and Gujarat have more than 1,000 Covid cases.
“The last review meeting concluded that there is no cause for concern in the country right now. India Now in addition to BA.2, there is BA.4 and BA.5, which have slightly higher transmission efficiency than other Omicron sub-lineages,” the official said. INSACOG is a joint initiative of the Department of Biotechnology under the Ministry of Science and Technology. technology And the Ministry of Health will do genome sequencing of the virus to understand how it spreads and develops.
Thirty-two districts in India, including 11 in Kerala and five in Maharashtra, are reporting weekly Covid positivity rates of more than 10 per cent, while 35 districts, including nine in Delhi, have weekly positivity between five and 10 per cent. , the sources said. With 13,216 fresh cases, India’s COVID-19 tally has gone up to 4,32,83,793, while the number of active cases has risen to 68,108, according to the health ministry’s data updated on Saturday morning.
The death toll due to the viral disease has risen to 5,24,840 with 23 more deaths. According to health experts, although there has been an increase in the number of COVID cases, there has been no related increase in hospitalizations or deaths. Also, the increase is limited to a few districts.
Apart from people’s reluctance to follow COVID-appropriate behaviour, many people are not enthusiastic about taking precautionary doses of vaccines, possibly increasing the pool of susceptible population. In addition, there has been an increase in mobility due to summer holidays, easing of national and international travel restrictions and complete opening of economic activities, due to which the infection has spread to vulnerable individuals.
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