Govt advises caution, masks; says don’t panic over Covid
Experts, while underscoring the need to be alert, said there was no reason for alarm since no worrying new variant has been detected yet and baseline immunity is adequate to carefully coexist with the virus.
People should wear masks in crowded places and states must keep a closer watch on new Covid-19 cases, especially those that crop up in unusual clusters, top government officials said on Wednesday as the administration held a pandemic situation review in light of the spike in cases in several countries, particularly China.
In the last week, the country reported a little over 150 cases a day on average, among the lowest numbers seen since the start of the pandemic, and experts, while underscoring the need to be alert, said there was no reason for alarm since no worrying new variant has been detected yet and baseline immunity is adequate to carefully coexist with the virus.
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“Covid is not over yet. I have directed all concerned to be alert and strengthen surveillance. We are prepared to manage any situation,” said Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya, following a meeting with top officials and experts over two hours on Wednesday.
Among the recommendations for people was to use face covering in certain circumstances. “People should wear masks in crowded areas. Those who have comorbidities or are elderly should especially adhere to this,” said VK Paul, member (health), Niti Aayog, following the meeting.
A person aware of the discussions at the meeting, asking not to be named, also said that random testing of incoming international passengers will be stepped up, especially for those showing symptoms.
Speaking to HT separately later, Paul added that there was no need for alarm since the variant in China, BF.7 (actually a sub-lineage of the BA5 Omicron variant that India is no stranger to), has already been found in India and did not lead to any spikes. “Four cases have been detected through the INSACOG system so far. One in July, two in September, and one in November this year; and despite this, there has been no escalation in cases seen so far from any part of the country. Hence no red alert, but abundant watch,” Paul said.
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Neither Paul nor Mandaviya had anything to say on accelerating the country’s flagging booster drive — around 70%people eligible for boosters are yet to take them, according to an HT analysis — or the development of bivalent vaccines, which some countries are beginning to focus on.
The variant BF.7 has also been analysed in detail by UK’s Health Security Agency and the US Centers for Disease Control and both found that its prevalence either remained stable or dropped, reinforcing that it was no more transmissible than other Omicron subvariants, pointing to other factors behind the surge of infections in China (likely ineffective vaccines, low prior exposure to the virus, and a significant population of unvaccinated older people).
The health minister, people aware of the matter said, cited the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in some countries across the world, such as China, Japan, South Korea, France and the United States, to stress on the importance of being prepared and remaining alert.
“Since the festive season is nearing, people will meet and greet and there is always a possibility of spread of infection in such a scenario. Therefore, it is important to observe Covid-19 appropriate behaviour, which is what we also discussed in the meeting. People need to be careful, especially when visiting crowded and indoor spaces,” said an expert present in the meeting, asking not to be named.
Mandaviya asked states to strengthen the surveillance system for whole genome sequencing of positive case samples in order to track any worrying new variant. “This would facilitate undertaking of appropriate public health measures. States/UTs have been requested to send samples of all Covid-19 positive cases to INSACOG Genome Sequencing Laboratories (IGSLs) on a daily basis, for sequencing, to track new variants, if any,” the health ministry said in a statement.
Experts agreed that as long as there is no sign of a new variant, there is no reason to worry. “Over the past one year, we have consistently seen infections stemming from the sub-lineages of the Omicron variant and there hasn’t been any dramatic new variant. Seems like we are in a better position but we cannot lower our guard, we have to be watchful of any new variants,” said Dr Randeep Guleria, former director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi.
A senior INSACOG member, asking not to be named, said: “The sublineage is more transmissible, no doubt, but the red flag usually is clinical severity as it could lead to higher hospitalisation and death rate. It’s been a few months that the sublineage has been around but we haven’t seen any clustering or rise in hospitalisations. Whole Genome Sequencing is on track.”
Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla, whose company manufactured the country’s mainstay Covid-19 vaccine Covishield, also expressed concern over rising Covid-19 cases in China but said there is no need to panic as the vaccination coverage in India is excellent.
“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,” Poonawalla tweeted.
According to government data, India has been witnessing a steady decline in cases with average daily cases falling to 158 in the week ending December 19, 2022. But, a consistent rise in global daily average cases has been reported since last six weeks — in the week ending December 19, there were an average of 590,000 cases every day across the world.
The expert quoted above added that booster, or precaution, doses will be crucial. “Only 27-28% of people have taken precaution dose. We appeal to others, especially senior citizens, to take precaution dose. Precaution dose is mandated and guided to everyone. People must use mask in crowded spaces, indoors or outdoors, and this is all the more important for people with comorbidities or are of higher age,” he said.
Among the attendees in health minister’s meeting were also secretaries of health, Ayush, and departments of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology; and director, Indian Council of Medical Research, and chairman, National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization.
