No cause for concern, as of now, but we have to be vigilant, says NITI member Aayog
The new strain of COVID-19 reported in the UK appears to increase the transmissibility and infection rate, but the mutation has so far not affected the severity and lethality of the disease, noted VK Paul, NITI Aayog member (Health). , on Tuesday. , speaking at a press conference.
He added that, until now, the mutation had not been detected in India and that it had no impact on the potential of emerging vaccines that are being developed in India or available internationally. “There is no cause for concern, no need to panic, from now on. But we have to be vigilant, ”he said.
Dr. Paul warned that SARS-CoV-2 was a “smart virus” that changes its behavior. “The new strain in the UK has undergone 17 changes, increasing its transmissibility by 70%. In a way, it has become a super spreader. We are closely monitoring developments and recently collected virus samples are being prioritized for genetic sequencing, “he explained.
In response to a question about some passengers who took Air India’s London-Delhi flight on Monday after testing positive for COVID-19 upon arrival in India and the precautions put in place for more inbound flights, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan , said the Union Health Ministry had issued comprehensive guidance regarding passengers who came from, or passed through, the UK from November 25 to December 23. “Their lists will be shared with the States / UT so that their samples are collected for testing. Contact tracing will be done in positive cases, ”he said.
Immunizations for emergency use
Speaking about the approval process for vaccines proposed in India for emergency use, Dr. Paul said that there are currently three approval requests. “Pfizer has not submitted its additional data, the other two companies have shared their data, and at least one company has provided a new data set. The data is being examined, ”he said.
India’s current active case load has fallen below 3 lakh
Providing details on the COVID-19 situation in India, Mr. Bhushan said that India’s active case burden had fallen below 3 lakh (2.92,518), which was the lowest in 163 days. Total active cases stood at 2.92,258 on July 12, 2020, he said, adding that there had been a net decrease of 11,121 cases in total active cases in the last 24 hours.
“India’s active cases per million population are among the lowest in the world (219). The figure is much higher for countries like the United States, Italy, Brazil, Turkey and Russia. In India, 30,376 cases have recovered in the last 24 hours, and new recoveries have been continuously exceeding new cases since the last 25 days, ” Bhushan said.
Data released by the Ministry on Tuesday noted that 75.31% of newly recovered cases were seen to be concentrated in 10 states / UT, with Maharashtra reporting the highest number of single-day recoveries at 6,053 recoveries, followed by Kerala with 4,494 new recoveries, and West Bengal records another 2,342 daily recoveries.
Kerala has reported the daily high of new cases amounting to 3,423 in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra recorded 2,834 new cases, while West Bengal reported 1,515 new cases on Monday, it added.
India has also reported 301 cases of death from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, with 18.27% of new deaths recorded in Maharashtra, which has reported 55 deaths. West Bengal and Kerala follow with 41 and 27 new deaths, respectively.
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