Mumbai: Amid a spike in infections in Maharashtra, the state health department on Monday confirmed that India’s first case of Omicron subvariant BQ.1 has been detected during genome sequencing of a Pune resident’s sample.
The Covid cases in Maharashtra have surged 17.7 percent in the last week. The Health Authority on Monday registered 201 new cases of Coronavirus, and the case fatality rate in Maharashtra is 1.82%. Pune reported 23 new cases.
According to the media report, BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 are the two descendants of omicron’s BA.5 subvariant, which have been both described as dangerous as they could evade the interventions available against Covid-19. They have caused over 10% of all active cases in the US.
State surveillance officer Pradeep Awate said, “The rise in cases is at the moment limited to Thane, Raigad, and Mumbai. The cases could increase especially during the festive season. We need to observe, precautions, especially for high-risk patients. Do not ignore flu-like symptoms. Seek medical advice at the earliest. Observe Covid appropriate behavior in public places.”
Awate urged people to undergo vaccination as per the government guidelines. “People with comorbidities need to take extra precautions while visiting public places. Persons suffering from an influenza-like illness should avoid public contact as much as possible,” he added.
(Vinayak)
