New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to chair a high-level meeting on Thursday afternoon to review the Covid-19 situation and the country’s preparedness to tackle the threat that the deadly virus, which is believed to have first emerged in China, poses to mankind. The meeting comes a day after Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya reviewed the situation and asked people to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour, including wearing masks in crowded places and getting vaccinated. Official sources have said random sample testing will be done at airports for international passengers arriving from China and other countries.


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-This becomes imperative since four cases of the BF.7 Omicron sub-variant, which is believed to be driving the current surge of infections in China, have been reported in India in the past few months. Sources said there are currently 10 different variants of Covid-19 in the country, with the latest being BF.7. Out of the four cases of the Omicron subvariant-- two have been detected in Gujarat and two in Odisha. In Gujarat, both the patients, who had foreign travel history, have recovered, as per PTI.


-The Union Health Minister urged people to follow Covid-appropriate behavior and get vaccinated against Covid-19. Emphasizing that the pandemic is not over yet, he asked officials to be fully geared up to challenge and step up surveillance. Amid a surge in Covid-19 cases globally, the central government has briefed all states to conduct genome sequencing of samples, the additional chief secretary of Health Manoj Agarwal informed that the central government briefed all states on the increasing trend of Covid-19 variants in parts of the world and asked them to ensure that whole genome sequencing is done in all states. 


-While cautioning that “Covid-19 is not over yet,” Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya asserted the need for continued surveillance. Random sample testing would be conducted at airports for passengers arriving from China and other countries, official sources said. People have been advised to wear masks in crowded places and the government appealed to citizens to get booster doses. It also advised the elderly and those with comorbidities to take precautions.


-The government has instructed states to ensure genome sequencing of all positive cases in the country. States have been asked to send Covid samples of all positive patients to labs run by INSACOG, a forum under the Health Ministry that studies and monitors various strains of coronavirus.


-There has been an alarming surge in Covid cases in China, Japan, South Korea, France, and the United States. The spike is being blamed on the new Omicron sub-variant BF.7, which has also been detected in four Indian states.


-The new Omicron subvariant BF.7 is known to spread very fast and has a shorter incubation period. BF.7 is a sub-lineage of the Omicron variant BA.5 and is highly contagious, has a shorter incubation period, and has a higher capacity to cause reinfection or infect even those vaccinated. The country reported 129 fresh infections over 24 hours and the number of active cases currently stands at 3,408. One death was recorded.


(With Agency Inputs)