Finance
The Centre will review the Covid-19 situation in India today (December 21, 2022), as the virus’s new wave sweeps China. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will preside over the key meeting, which will be attended by the secretaries of health, Ayush, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology, as well as Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director General Rajiv Bahl, NITI Aayog Member (Health) V K Paul, and National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) Chairman NL Arora and other senior officials.
India has 3,408 active cases, with 131 new coronavirus infections reported today. According to data from the Union Health Ministry, the country has seen over 4.46 crore cases and approximately 5.30 lakh Covid-19-related deaths.
The Union Health Ministry urged all states and union territories on Tuesday to increase whole genome sequencing of positive samples in order to keep track of newer Covid-19 variants.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan stated in a letter to states and UTs that such an exercise will enable timely detection of newer variants, if any, circulating in the country and will facilitate the implementation of necessary public health measures.
“In view of 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,” Bhushan said.
He emphasized that India, by focusing on the five-pronged strategy of test-track-treat-vaccination and adherence to Covid-appropriate behavior, has been able to limit coronavirus transmission and has around 1,200 cases on a weekly basis.
The Covid-19 public health challenge persists, he said, with approximately 35 lakh cases reported weekly.
“In this context, all states are requested to ensure that as many positive cases as possible are sent to the designated INSACOG Genome Laboratories that are mapped to states and UTs on a daily basis,” he added.
China struggles to install hospital beds, build fever screening clinics as Covid-19 cases surge
On Tuesday, cities across China scrambled to install hospital beds and fever screening clinics as Covid-19 cases and deaths continued to rise, raising international concern about Beijing’s unexpected decision to let the virus loose.
Beijing recorded five deaths on Tuesday, following the two reported on Monday, which were the first in weeks. Since the pandemic began in the city of Wuhan in late 2019, China has reported 5,242 Covid-19 deaths (a very low toll by global standards).
On Monday, Beijing city official Xu Hejian also stated that the virus was rapidly spreading throughout the capital.
Since December 7, when they began dismantling their stringent “zero-Covid” policy of lockdowns and testing in response to protests against curbs that had kept the virus at bay among its 1.4 billion-strong population for three years, China has seen an increase in coronavirus cases. Since then, some hospitals have been overwhelmed, pharmacies have been depleted of medications, and many people have gone into self-imposed lockdowns, putting a strain on delivery services.
Last week, China’s chief epidemiologist Wu Zunyou stated that the country was in the midst of the first of three Covid-19 waves that were expected this winter.
Source:ZN
