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What we know so far about new Covid strain in Singapore
Singapore has closed schools as children are getting more affected, but it said the variant did not originate from Singapore. It originated in India, Singapore said.
A variant of Covid-19 reportedly found in Singapore has become the centre of a controversy that is raging from India to Singapore as Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has on Tuesday said a variant now being found in Singapore can be dangerous for kids.
Here is what we know so far about the strain and Singapore's rise in Covid cases
> Infections of "untraceable origin" have surfaced in Singapore in the last few weeks, the Associated Press reported.
> Restrictions have been brought back in Singapore and these curbs will be in place until June 13. Restaurants are not operating for dine-in and public gathering has been reduced to two people.
> Singapore government said the variant is B.1.617.2 which originated in India.
> Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain has said that the variant spreading in Singapore is different.
> From Wednesday, schools in Singapore have been shut. Schools will not reopen before May 28, an AFP report said. The shutting down of school was announced on Sunday on the same day when Singapore reported 38 new cases of Covid-19 infections, the highest number reported in a year.
> A week before, Singapore reported 32 cases and in the week before that, there were only six cases, So from 6 to 32 to 38 — all happened in two weeks' time.
> Singapore authorities have said that this strain is affecting children more. But they have reiterated that the strain was first detected in India.
> Singapore has decided to vaccinate students aged 12 to 15 years as the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been cleared for administration among this age group.
What we know so far about third wave of Covid-19 pandemic in India
Amid the raging controversy over what Kejriwal said, the AAP government reiterated that the issue is not where the strain originated from, but the safety of the children who were thought to be immune against the attack of the virus so far. Government's principal scientific advisor Dr K VijayRaghavan, early this month, said that a third wave of the pandemic is likely to strike India again. It can be avoided if by that time a large number of people are vaccinated, he said, adding that social distancing and wearing of the mask will remain equally important.
That the third wave will be dangerous for children has not been scientifically claimed anywhere but doing the rounds for quite some time. Justice DY Chandrachud, while hearing a case on Covid-19 management in the Supreme Court, commented that the third wave will affect children. The Maharashtra government said it was setting up paediatric covid wards, in preparation for the third wave.
