Omicron sub-variant BA.2 now more prevalent in India: Govt
Last week, UK health authorities had designated it as a variant under investigation.
- Jan 27, 2022,
- Updated Jan 27, 2022 5:26 PM IST
National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Director Mukesh Kumar stated on Thursday that the Omicron sub-variant BA.2 is more prevalent in India now.
Last week, UK health authorities had designated it as a variant under investigation (VUI). A VUI designation is the initial step of investigation before being designated a variant of concern (VOC).
Meanwhile, Luv Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry, stated in a press conference on Thursday that India's overall case positivity rate across the country was nearly 17.75 per cent during the last week. As of January 27, there were 2,02,472 active cases of COVID-19 in the country.
"There are over 50,000 COVID active cases in 11 states, 10,000-50,000 active cases in 14 states &less than 10,000 active cases in 11 states," said Aggarwal.
The Union Health Ministry explained that there are over 3 lakh active cases in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Kerala. While Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu have over one lakh active cases. "We're in touch with the states regarding containment activities. As of Jan 26, 551 districts were reporting case positivity rate of over 5 per cent," informed Aggarwal.
Comparing the current COVID-19 situation to the second wave of the pandemic, the ministry added that on May 7, 2021, there were 4,14,188 fresh cases and 3679 deaths with just 3 per cent of the population fully vaccinated. It added that on January 21, 2022, there were 3,47,254 new cases and 435 deaths with 75 per cent of the population vaccinated.
The ministry also shared that India has achieved 95 per cent first dose vaccination coverage and 74 per cent second dose coverage. It added 97.03 lakh individuals from among the eligible population has been administered the 'precaution dose'
Earlier, Vinod Bhandari, founder chairman of Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences (SAIMS) had stated on Monday that since January 6, a total of 21 cases of BA.2 sub-lineage of the Omicron variant have been found during tests conducted in our Molecular Virology Diagnostic and Research Lab in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
"Lung involvement ranging from 1 per cent to 50 per cent was observed in six out of 21 patients of this Omicron sub-lineage. Three patients are still hospitalized, while 18 have been discharged. Of the 21, a total of 15 adults have taken both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine," Bhandari had told PTI.
Also read: COVID-19: Active cases fall to 22.02 lakh, fatality rate reaches 1.22%
National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Director Mukesh Kumar stated on Thursday that the Omicron sub-variant BA.2 is more prevalent in India now.
Last week, UK health authorities had designated it as a variant under investigation (VUI). A VUI designation is the initial step of investigation before being designated a variant of concern (VOC).
Meanwhile, Luv Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry, stated in a press conference on Thursday that India's overall case positivity rate across the country was nearly 17.75 per cent during the last week. As of January 27, there were 2,02,472 active cases of COVID-19 in the country.
"There are over 50,000 COVID active cases in 11 states, 10,000-50,000 active cases in 14 states &less than 10,000 active cases in 11 states," said Aggarwal.
The Union Health Ministry explained that there are over 3 lakh active cases in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Kerala. While Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu have over one lakh active cases. "We're in touch with the states regarding containment activities. As of Jan 26, 551 districts were reporting case positivity rate of over 5 per cent," informed Aggarwal.
Comparing the current COVID-19 situation to the second wave of the pandemic, the ministry added that on May 7, 2021, there were 4,14,188 fresh cases and 3679 deaths with just 3 per cent of the population fully vaccinated. It added that on January 21, 2022, there were 3,47,254 new cases and 435 deaths with 75 per cent of the population vaccinated.
The ministry also shared that India has achieved 95 per cent first dose vaccination coverage and 74 per cent second dose coverage. It added 97.03 lakh individuals from among the eligible population has been administered the 'precaution dose'
Earlier, Vinod Bhandari, founder chairman of Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences (SAIMS) had stated on Monday that since January 6, a total of 21 cases of BA.2 sub-lineage of the Omicron variant have been found during tests conducted in our Molecular Virology Diagnostic and Research Lab in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
"Lung involvement ranging from 1 per cent to 50 per cent was observed in six out of 21 patients of this Omicron sub-lineage. Three patients are still hospitalized, while 18 have been discharged. Of the 21, a total of 15 adults have taken both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine," Bhandari had told PTI.
Also read: COVID-19: Active cases fall to 22.02 lakh, fatality rate reaches 1.22%