Amid a fresh surge of Covid-19 cases in China, the Centre on Wednesday advised people to mask up and get vaccinated. It also directed sample testing at random at airports for passengers arriving from China and other countries.
Meanwhile, four cases of Omicron subvariant BF.7 - said to be driving China's current surge - were also detected in India. While three cases have been reported from Gujarat, one is from Odisha.
What we know so far:
1) While there are no active cases of Omicron subvariant BF.7, all the four cases were reported in the past; one each in July, November and two in September.
2) All three patients in Gujarat recovered in home isolation without the need for hospitalization. “Two were in Ahmedabad and one was in Vadodara. All the infected persons have recovered and are back to normal life,” said Manoj Aggarwal, additional chief secretary, health and family welfare.
3) Odisha's Omicron BF.7 Covid case subvariant was detected in a woman who was on her way to the United States. Officials said the strain was detected on September 30.
{{/usCountry}}3) Odisha's Omicron BF.7 Covid case subvariant was detected in a woman who was on her way to the United States. Officials said the strain was detected on September 30.
{{/usCountry}}4) In a review meeting chaired by health minister Mansukh Mandaviya, experts said there was no overall increase in the Covid caseload, but emphasised on the need for continued surveillance to track existing/emerging variants.
5) The government has also requested states and union territories to send samples of all Covid positive cases to Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) labs to track new variants if any.
6) Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will hold an emergency Covid review meeting on Thursday with Manish Sisodia and top officials.
7) Maharashtra health minister Tanaji Sawant said no case of the Omicron sub-variant has been reported in Maharashtra and insisted there was no need to fear. “Govt fully alert. Passengers from BF.7 sub-variant affected countries to be tested. If any person is suspected of this variant, will be immediately isolated,” he was quoted by ANI.
8) China is seeing a surge in infections after ending strict restrictions; the World Health Organization data shows infections on the rise in countries including Japan, South Korea, and the United States in recent days.
9) 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.
10) It has already been detected in several other countries, including the US, the UK, and European nations such as Belgium, Germany, France, and Denmark.
(With inputs from bureau, agencies)