Covid Review Meeting: People Advised to Wear Mask in Crowded Places

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Dec 21: Alarm Bells have started ringing in India after three cases of Omicron sub variant BF.7, believed to be the strain that is spearheading China’s current surge of Covid-19 cases, have been detected in India so far.

After the centre asked all the states and the union territories to carefully carry out genome sequencing of all new Coronavirus cases to detect if any new variant was round the corner, the union health ministry on Wednesday held a review meeting which decided to hold weekly meetings to monitor the Covid situation in the country besides advising people in the crowded places to wear masks.

Even though the country on Wednesday reported only 129 fresh infections over the last 24 hours and active cases at 3,408, alarming reports from China prompted the government to convene the high-level meeting to chalk out the strategy to prevent a surge here.

After the meeting, the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, tweeted, “COVID is not over yet. I have directed all concerned to be alert and strengthen surveillance. We are prepared to manage any situation.” VK Paul, a member of NITI Aayog who heads the national task force on Covid, has said there was no need to panic, and that adequate tests were being conducted. He advised people to wear masks in crowded areas. Mr Paul said there was no change in the guidelines for international air travel yet.

The first case of BF.7 in India was detected in October by Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre. So far, two cases have been reported from Gujarat while one case has been reported from Odisha, officials sources said on Wednesday. .

According to official sources in New Delhi, 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,” official source said.

BF.7 is a sub-lineage of the Omicron variant BA.5 and has the strongest infection ability since it is highly transmissible, has a shorter incubation period, and has a higher capacity to cause reinfection or infect even those vaccinated. It has already been detected in several other countries, including the US, the UK and European nations such as Belgium, Germany, France and Denmark.

While there are no big steps yet, the union government has asked states to send samples to labs for genome sequencing, which can help identify the variant or sub-variant. “ln view of the sudden spurt of cases being witnessed in Japan, United States of America, Republic of Korea, Brazil and China, it is essential to gear up the whole genome sequencing of positive case samples to track the variants,” a letter from Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan to all states and union territories said.

At the Covid review meet chaired by the union health minister on Wednesday, experts said though there was no overall increase in Covid caseload as of now in India, there was a need for continued surveillance to keep a track of existing and emerging variants.

When the first case of BF.7 infection showed up, health expert Dr Rajeev Jayadevan had said, “Ever since Omicron arrived in November 2021, it has been giving off branches which divide into smaller branches. Of these, BA.2 and BA.5 proved to be stronger than the rest. BA.5.1.7 and BF.7 are names given to downstream descendants of BA.5.”

Apparently the review meeting has gone to the length it was expected earlier including discussing a strategy to block incoming cases at the international and domestic airports, laying down guidelines for passengers travelling from abroad, and consultation with experts on the new variant of Covid.

Indian travellers returning from abroad, the Covid strains currently in the country and prevention protocols for the upcoming New Year celebrations were also expected to be discussed but apparently Wednesday’s meeting did not take up these issues.

China is reportedly struggling to contain a surge in Covid-related deaths after an abrupt shift from its Zero Covid policy that imposed strict lockdowns and mass testing. According to reports, in the recent spike of cases in China, hospitals have been brought to their knees and pharmacies have run out of medicine. Chinese authorities say it is impossible to track the progress of the virus. Local authorities in Beijing reported just five deaths from Covid on Tuesday — up from Monday’s two. Beijing health officials said only those who had directly died of respiratory failure caused by the virus would be counted under Covid death statistics.