Despite the fact that COVID-19 instances are increasing in the nation, the severity and hospitalisation are being closely watched because no new variety has been identified, according to Dr Sujeet Singh, Director of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
“We are investigating the sort of variant to see whether we are seeing specific cases of some variant as the US, UK, and other nations are reporting.” “We are also tracking hospitalisation and case severity to see whether it is related to another variety or not,” Dr Sujeet Singh told ANI. Dr. Singh also stated that no new variants have been reported as of yet.
“Aside from Omicron or its sublineages, we haven’t uncovered any distinct new variations, and recombinant variants have been reported,” he noted.
He also mentioned a sentinel surveillance scheme, in which 396 sentinel sites around the nation provide samples for genome sequencing.
“Omicron BA.2 and its sublineages have supplanted all varieties such as delta and others, although sublineages differ in transmission and severity,” Singh explained.
According to Dr. Sujit Singh, the Union Health Ministry has issued instructions to investigate how a certain variety is acting in India, which cities have been affected, and whether it is signalling any severity.
“We have discussed the behaviour of various variants in the United States, the United Kingdom, India, and South Africa. The Union Health Minister has also issued special instructions to check into the instances that are hospitalised.” “What kind of mutations are observed in those patients that are in hospitals?” he added.
He also stated that surveillance had begun in accordance with the directions, with a particular focus on districts with the highest number of reported cases to determine which specific variant is responsible for the increase in COVID cases and what type of variants have been encountered in hospitalisation cases.
He explained the distinction between infection and disease, saying, “Infection and disease are two separate things; you might be infected yet not acquire a symptomatic condition.”
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So, if the number of infected and asymptomatic people is increasing and the variant is not causing a severe disease, we may not need to be concerned.”
“I won’t say it’s a rapid jump; we’ve been witnessing a slow rise for two months; if we speak about day one and day 60th, there is obviously a worrying growth, but we do need to understand the epidemiological spread and severity,” he added.
Explanation of the increase of COVID cases in certain locations of some states.
“When we look at Maharashtra, we notice that it is not the entire state that is reporting a jump in COVID cases; we need to look at epidemiologically where the transmission is highest, which is Mumbai circles, Pune, Palghar, and Thane. Similarly, while optimism is abundant in Kerala, there are other aspects “He finished.
“The increase in instances is determined by three key factors. The first is the susceptible pool of the population; you can observe what the immunity status is in the community. As immunity deteriorates, the population’s susceptibility increases. Virus-like omicron has a higher proclivity to overcome vaccination.
“As the vulnerable pool grows, so do the cases,” he concluded.
