New Delhi: The Indian government on Wednesday advised people to get vaccinated and mask up amid the rise in Covid cases in the country. The country said random sample testing will be conducted at airports for passengers arriving from China and other countries.
Three cases of the Omicron subvariant BF.7, apparently the strain driving China's current surge of Covid cases, have been detected in the country so far.
The first case of BF.7 in India was detected in October by the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre, official sources said, adding that two cases have been reported from Gujarat and one from Odisha.
Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya chaired a Covid review meeting with experts and senior officials stressing the need for continued surveillance even though there is no overall increase in the Covid caseload as of now.
"Covid is not over yet. I have directed all concerned to be alert and strengthen surveillance. We are prepared to manage any situation," the minister said.
He directed that the surveillance system for whole genome sequencing of positive case samples to track variants through the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) network be strengthened.
"Random sample testing will be done for international air passengers arriving from various countries including China," an official source said after the review meeting.
States/UTs have been requested to send samples of all COVID-19 positive cases to INSACOG Genome Sequencing Laboratories (IGSLs) on a daily basis, for sequencing, to track new variants, if any, a health ministry statement said.
India has been witnessing a steady decline in cases with average daily cases falling to 158 in the week ending December 19, 2022, the minister was briefed in a presentation.
However, a consistent rise in global daily average cases has been reported for the last six weeks, with 5.9 lakh daily average cases reported in the week ending December 19, 2022.
NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr V K Paul noted that only 27-28 per cent of India's eligible population had taken the Covid precaution dose and said people should take the jab and also wear masks in crowded places.
"People should wear masks in crowded areas. Those with comorbidities and the old should especially adhere to this," Paul said and urged people not to panic.
BF.7 poses huge threat
According to official sources here, Chinese cities are currently hit by the highly transmissible Omicron strain, mostly BF.7 which is the main variant spreading in Beijing and is contributing to a wider surge of Covid infections in that country.
"The BF.7's high transmissibility in China might be attributed to a low level of immunity in the Chinese population from the previous infection and possibly vaccination too," an official source said.
It has already been detected in several other countries, including the US, the UK and European nations such as Belgium, Germany, France and Denmark.
Official sources said random sample testing for coronavirus will be conducted at airports for international passengers arriving from China and other countries.
The government will again hold a meeting next week to monitor the situation.
Kerala among top 5 states
During the meeting, it was highlighted that Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Tamil Nadu are the top five states contributing in terms of new Covid cases even though there is a consistent decline in the overall caseload in the country.
The Karnataka government will also start screening international passengers at Bengaluru airport in view of the sudden spurt in Covid cases in some parts of the world, state Health Minister K Sudhakar said.
Other state governments such as West Bengal, Maharashtra and Delhi also expressed their concern and expressed their readiness to tackle an eventuality of cases going up.
As concern mounted, Mandaviya wrote to Rahul Gandhi and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot citing concerns raised by three BJP MPs from the desert state and urged the Congress leadership to consider suspending their yatra if Covid protocols could not be followed.
Stung to the quick, the Congress accused the government of selectively picking on the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Pointing to the BJP taking out marches in Karnataka and Rajasthan, party leaders, including Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera, said public health is far too serious an issue for party politics.
(With PTI inputs.)
