New COVID Variant Breakout Detected As India Reports Nearly 19,000 New Cases In 24 Hours

India has added 1,14,575 cases in the past seven days, with the new daily closed cases at 18,930 with 14,650 patients that recovered while 35 died in the last 24 hours, on Thursday, according to the Health Ministry Data. The cumulative Covid-related deaths in the county so far are over 5.25 lakh.

According to The Hindustan Times, on Tuesday, July 5, there were 2,771 more cases than Wednesday, July 6, when 16,159 people tested positive for Covid. The Health Ministry said Wednesday's daily and weekly positivity rates stand at 4.32% and 3.86%, respectively.

COVID-19 Situation In Different States

The five most affected states by total cases are Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh. The country's cumulative vaccination coverage has exceeded 198.33 crores, with over 11.4 lakh doses administered to eligible beneficiaries in the last 24 hours.

Moreover, The Union health ministry on Wednesday reduced the duration between the second and the third precaution dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from nine months to six months. As per the official data, India has administered 4.75 crore precaution doses.

In the priority groups, 57.75 lakh health care workers, 1.05 crore frontline workers and 2.50 crore elderly population above 60 years have received their precaution dose.

Omicron Variant BA.2.75

A new sub-variant of COVID-19 called Omicron BA.2.75, first reported from India and ten other countries, has raised concern as it is highly transmissible. World Health Organisation (WHO) assured that it is closely monitoring the strain.

According to the Economic Times, it is yet to be determined if the new variant is more clinically severe than its predecessors. According to the WHO chief scientist, Saumya Swaminathan, there is still a limited sequence available to analyse the new Omicron Variant. The statements come as many countries, including India, are reporting the sudden rise in virus cases. This has triggered a scare of the fourth wave of coronavirus in the country.

The WHO weekly epidemiological update on COVID-19, released on Wednesday, said that globally, the number of new weekly cases increased for the fourth consecutive week after a declining trend since the last peak in March 2022.

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