Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday in reaction to the unexpected rise of Covid cases in a number of nations, including China, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, and the US, according to officials, as reported by news agency PTI. They said that the chief minister had ordered the health department to assure sample genome sequencing and to take whatever additional actions required to prepare for any scenario. The COVID-19 scenario is being watched by the Delhi administration.
An official stated on Wednesday that “Delhi government is alert. CM Kejriwal has called an emergency meeting regarding coronavirus tomorrow.”
In response to a spike in COVID-19 cases in numerous nations, the central government encouraged all states and union territories on Tuesday to expedite whole genome sequencing of positive samples.
In a letter to the states and UTs, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan remarked that such an activity will facilitate critical public health measures and allow for the rapid discovery of any novel strains circulating in the country.
Official sources indicated on Wednesday that three instances of Omicron subvariant BF.7, which appears to be the strain responsible for China’s current rise in Covid infections, have been discovered in India so far. In October, the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre detected the first BF.7 case in India. According to them, Gujarat has recorded two cases and Odisha has reported one so far.
Experts at the Covid review meeting on Wednesday, chaired over by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, indicated that, while the general caseload of Covid has not increased, continued surveillance is required to keep track of both existing and new varieties.
According to official sources cited by PTI, cities are currently being affected by the highly transmissible Omicron strain, most often BF.7, which is the major variety spreading in Beijing and contributing to a higher spike in Covid infections in China.
The public health problem of COVID-19 persists, with around 35 lakh new cases recorded each week.
