India reported 126% increase in COVID cases in last one week: WHO

India reported an increase in new weekly cases by 126 per cent, according to the weekly epidemiological update issued by the World Health Organization (WHO).  With India's COVID-19 trajectory again rising up, the country reported over 6826 new cases in this week compared to 15448 in the previous week. The country reported over 3,377 new cases in the last 24 hours, the union health ministry data showed.  

The country's total tally of cases was pushed to 4,30,72,176, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday. The death toll climbed to 5,23,753 with 60 fresh fatalities, the government data updated at 8 AM showed. 

The WHO has said that Omicron's sub-variants are driving rapid case increases in some countries and there's always the possibility of a more deadly variant emerging. The apex global public health agency noted that previously reported upsurge in cases observed in some countries may be due to the higher intrinsic transmissibility and/or higher immune escape properties of the circulating descendent lineages, waning immunity or a combination of these factors in the context of an evolving genetic landscape. 

"To date, and with limited data currently available, there appears to be a growth advantage for BA.4, BA.5 and BA.2.12 over BA.2. Currently, available evidence does not suggest differences in severity or clinical manifestations. More data are expected as studies are ongoing," the WHO epidemiological update said. 

In India, the maximum burden of rising cases is being borne by metropolitan cities such as Delhi and Mumbai along with Kerala and North Eastern states.  India's Active Caseload currently stands at 17,801. Active cases now constitute 0.04% of the country's total Positive Cases.  Weekly Positivity Rate in the country currently stands at 0.63 per cent and the Daily Positivity rate is also reported to be 0.71 per cent, the government data shows. 

"We have seen that in the last few days, there has been an increase in the number of patients presenting with influenza-like symptoms. The increase is somewhere around 30 per cent. All these patients are getting the COVID test done. One in ten patients are coming out to be positive. Not only them, but their whole family is also coming out to be positive. There is a slight increase in the number of patients presenting with this," said Dr Vikas Maurya, Director and head of the department, Pulmonology, Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh in Delhi. 

"Those patients who are getting admitted in the hospital at present are not very severe. Those who are found to be COVID positive are in the moderate category with having some lung involvement. They are on oxygen support but are not requiring very high oxygen or ventilator support. So, at present no patient with severe COVID has been admitted in the hospital. The number of patients in Delhi are slightly less than yesterday. We have to keep a careful watch on the number of patients coming out and continue with COVID appropriate behaviour," said Maurya. 

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