'Rising Cases Is Concerning': India To Step Up Surveillance Amid Fresh COVID-19 Horror In China & Other Countries

China is witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases across the country after the government lifted isolation protocols and set of restrictions. The situation remains worse, with authorities struggling to arrange beds for the rising number of patients.

Fears are mounting worldwide as crematoriums are overburdened, and new cases are crossing the 10,000 mark daily in China. Several health experts have suggested that over 60 per cent of China and 10 per cent of the world's population are expected to be infected by the next three months, with the number of deaths likely to be in a million.

COVID Variant Omicron Emerges Again

The world witnessed COVID variant omicron emerging in late 2021, which later evolved into sub-variants. However, the cases soon came under the grip of lockdown restrictions and gave certain relief to the people. According to officials, Chinese cities are mainly hit by highly contagious omicron strain BF.7, spreading rapidly. The variant has been identified as the primary factor for the rising cases of COVID in China.

The health reports suggest that omicron strain BF.7 has the most substantial infection potential among other sub-variants. It transmits quicker than any other variant and has a shorter incubation period with a greater capacity to damage the immune system, even if the person is vaccinated.

'Gear Up Genome Sequencing'

As COVID-19 cases are rising in China and other countries, including the US and Japan, the Indian government raised an alert on Tuesday (December 20) and directed all the states and Union Territories to gear up genome sequencing of all positive cases with immediate effect, reported The Times of India.

The Union Health Secretary, Rajesh Bhusan, in a letter to the states and UTs, wrote, "Given 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 through Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) network."

The health minister, Mansukh Mandaviya, also held a meeting on Wednesday (December 21) with experts and senior officials of the health department to review the COVID-19 situation across the country. The government has appealed to the people to wear masks in crowded places and take precautionary doses (if not taken yet). The health ministry said there are no restrictions yet on any sector, including aviation.

'India Does Not Need To Panic'

The chief of the Serum Institute of India, Adar Poonawalla, has mentioned that rising cases of COVID-19 in China are concerning, but India doesn't need to panic, considering the wide range of vaccination coverage.

The news of rising COVID cases coming out of China is concerning, we need not panic given our excellent vaccination coverage and track record. We must continue to trust and follow the guidelines set by the Government of India and @MoHFW_INDIA.

— Adar Poonawalla (@adarpoonawalla) December 21, 2022

As many as 2.19 billion doses of vaccines have been administered in India since 2021, including Covishield. However, more than 85 per cent of the Chinese population was also vaccinated against the contagious virus. Despite being vaccinated, the country is grappling with fresh COVID-19 horror.

Also Read: Indian Railways 'Meghdoot' Initiative Allows To Drink Water Harvested From Air: Know More